Mount Union, Whitewater assistants finalists at River Falls

Five finalists have been named for the head football coaching and health & human performance instructor position at UW-River Falls.

The candidates will be interviewed on campus between Dec. 14-20. There will be open forums for each candidate. All open forums will be held in the University Center Kinnickinnic Theater.

Aaron Vlcko, currently the offensive coordinator at UW-Stevens Point, will be on campus on Tuesday, Dec. 14 with the open forum set for 2-3 p.m.  He was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at UWSP in 2010. He as also an instructor in the university’s HESA department. In the 2009 season he was at Truman State where he was the interim head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterback coach. From 2005-08 he was the assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterback coach at Truman. In the 2003 and 2004 seasons he was the quarterback and running back coach at Coe. Vlcko coached from 1996-2003 at Bemidji State where he held offensive coordinator, running back and quarterback coaching positions. He was a professor in the university’s physical education/sport management program. From 1994-96 he coached running backs at Lindenwood. He earned his undergraduate degree from Coe in 1994 and master’s degrees from Lindewood and Bemidji State.

Joel Dettwiler, currently the defensive coordinator at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, will be on campus on Wednesday, Dec. 15 with the open forum set for 2-3 p.m. Dettwiler, a 1997 graduate of UW-Platteville, has been the defensive coordinator at Wartburg since 2008. He has been coaching at Wartburg since 2004. Wartburg qualified for the NCAA Div. III playoffs in 2004, 2008 and 2010. Dettwiler has been an instructor in the college’s computer science and physical education departments. From 2000-04 he was an assistant coach at UW-Platteville. He coached defensive backs and defensive linemen. He was a lecturer in the university’s engineering and physical education departments.  Dettwiler earned master’s degrees from UW-Madison and UW-Platteville.

Matt Walker, currently an assistant coach at Butler, will be on campus on Thursday, Dec. 16 with the open forum set for 2-3 p.m. Walker coached tight ends at Butler this year. From 2006-09 he was the head coach at DePauw. The teams finished the three seasons with a 22-8 record. From 2000-05 he was an assistant coach in charge of running backs at DePauw. Walker, a 1999 graduate of DePauw, was an instructor of kinesiology from 2000-06 at DePauw. He also coached the DePauw baseball team from 2001-09 and won five conference championships. He earned his master’s degree from Indiana State in 2001.

Vincent Kehres, currently an assistant coach at Mount Union, will be on campus on Monday, Dec. 20 with the open forum set for 2-3 p.m. Kehres has been the defensive coordinator at Mount Union since 2005. Mount Union has won Division III national championships in 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2008. The team plays in the Stagg Bowl on Saturday against UW-Whitewater. The 1998 Mount Union graduate was named the Ohio Athletic Conference assistant coach of the year in 2006. Kehres has coached offensive linemen, defensive linemen and linebackers at Mount Union. Since 2003 he has been an instructor in the Mount Union department of human performance. Kehres, the son of Mount Union coach Larry Kehres, earned a master’s degree from Ashland in 2002.

Kevin Bullis, currently an assistant coach at UW-Whitewater, will be on campus on Tuesday, Dec. 21 with the open forum set for 1-2 p.m. Bullis, a 1989 graduate of UM-Morris, is the defensive run coordinator and special teams coach at UW-Whitewater. He coached at UW-Whitewater when the team won the 2009 NCAA National Championship and finished as runner up in 2008. The team will play in the Stagg Bowl on Saturday against Mount Union. He has coached at UWW since 2008. From 2004-07 he was the assistant head coach at UW-River Falls and was the team’s defensive coordinator from 1995-2007. Bullis has coaching experience at Minnesota-Morris (1988-89) and Gustavus Adolphus (1993-95). He also coached linebackers at UWRF (1990-93). Bullis has been an instructor in the UW-Whitewater new student seminar and has been an instructor in the UWRF health & human performance department. He earned his master’s degree from UWRF in 1992.