Luther hires UW-La Crosse assistant Joe Thompson, Luther athletic director, has named Mike Durnin the college’s new head football coach. Durnin, defensive coordinator at UW-La Crosse for the past seven years, succeeds Paul Hefty, who served as coach for six years and resigned in November to pursue interests outside of football. Durnin will assume his duties at Luther immediately. During his time at UW-La Crosse, the Eagles produced an overall record of 48-26, capturing three Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships and making four NCAA Division III playoff appearances. Durnin began his coaching career at Minnesota State-Mankato (1981-83) as a graduate assistant, coaching both wide receivers and defensive backs. He then served as defensive coordinator at Yankton until the school closed in 1984. Durnin next spent seven years at Puget Sound (1985-92), where he served as the defensive coordinator the first four years and offensive coordinator the final three seasons. Prior to his stint at UW-La Crosse, he was the recruiting coordinator at Illinois State (1992-94) and also coached running backs, quarterbacks, and kickers. From 1994 until he joined the Eagles football staff in 2001, he was in private business. Durnin is a 1981 graduate of UW-La Crosse, where he played quarterback and still holds the school record for touchdown passes in a single game with six. He also holds a bachelor of science degree from La Crosse and a master of arts degree from Mankato, both in physical education. “I am truly excited to serve Luther College as head football coach,” commented Durnin. “The sky's the limit for this program. There is an excellent nucleus of players committed to winning, along with great support starting with President Richard Torgerson and Joe Thompson, athletic director. I am excited about meeting individually with the team, and I will be starting my recruiting for Luther College immediately.” “We are proud to have Mike serve as our head football coach at Luther College,” stated Thompson. “He has accumulated a wealth of successful coaching experience, has been a wonderful mentor to student-athletes, and embraces the NCAA III philosophy. Mike has tremendous ability, integrity, and experience, and we are excited that he has elected to become a part of the Luther College community.” | |
| Permalink | Dec 19, 2007 | |
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