Barry Streeter has seen a lot of Division III football, including a stovepipe hat trophy. Gettysburg athletics photo

After 42 years of outstanding service at Gettysburg, football coach Barry Streeter will retire following the conclusion of the season, assistant vice president for athletics and development officer David Wright has announced.

Barry Streeter has won nearly 200 games as Gettysburg head coach. 2009 D3sports.com file photo

The all-time winningest and longest-tenured football coach in school history, Streeter took over as head coach in 1978 after serving as defensive coordinator for the previous three seasons. Over nearly four decades as head coach, he has amassed 195 victories, which ranks 28th in Division III history and 10th among current Division III head coaches. He is currently the longest-tenured head football coach in Division III.

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“Gettysburg College has been so good to me and so supportive throughout my 42 years of coaching here,” said Streeter. “I can say nothing but positive things about the school and the administration. It’s been a great place to be – it’s never really felt like work.

“I would like to thank [former Gettysburg College president] Charles Glassick, who hired me as head coach when I was only 29. I’ve worked for great athletic directors, from Gene Haas to Bob Hulton to Chuck Winters to Dave Wright. They have all been very supportive, and for that I am thankful. I’ve also worked with great coaches who have been extremely loyal to the program.

“I don’t think there would ever be an easy time to do it, because it’s been such a big part of my life for so many years,” continued Streeter. “But I’ve always told myself that I want to be healthy when I retire, and it just felt like the right time. I really look forward to spending time with my family and seeing what God has in store for me.”

“Barry Streeter has been an institution at Gettysburg College for over four decades,” said Wright. “Hundreds of young men have had the good fortune of learning about life from one of the best. Barry was able to use football as a platform for teaching young men how to be the best versions of themselves and how to make a positive difference in the world. He has always placed more importance on the integrity and character of the individual than on their ability to play the game. He has been a great example to countless student-athletes and athletic department staff members over his illustrious career.

“Barry will be greatly missed, and virtually impossible to replace.”

Streeter led Gettysburg to one of its proudest eras in program history when the Bullets captured three consecutive Centennial Conference titles from 1983-85, capped by an appearance in the 1985 NCAA Division III playoffs, when it reached the semifinals. That squad posted the only undefeated regular season in program history and finished 11-1-1. It also advanced deeper in the NCAA tournament than any Centennial Conference football team to this day.

Under Streeter’s guidance, the Bullets also posted eight consecutive winning seasons from 1980-87, the longest such streak in program history. In addition, the 1994 team posted a record of 8-2 and set numerous Centennial Conference records. Streeter has led the Bullets to a winning record nine times in the last 13 seasons, including five top-three finishes in the Centennial Conference.

The Bullets have made their mark as a prolific offensive team under Streeter and his hallmark Wing-T, and more recently, Spread Wing offense. Gettysburg has led the Centennial Conference in rushing a conference-record 16 times, finishing as high as second in Division III in 1987. Since the Spread Wing was installed in 2005, the Bullets have led the Centennial Conference in total offense five times, rushing offense seven times, and passing offense twice. Gettysburg has figured among the top 25 in Division III in rushing five times during the same stretch, and in 2009 the Bullets finished fourth in Division III in total offense, averaging a school-record 493.1 yards per game.

Streeter has coached many outstanding student-athletes, including 21 All-Americans, three Centennial Conference Offensive Players of the Year, and 207 all-conference selections. The Bullets have also excelled off the field, with six capturing CoSIDA Academic All-America recognition, including two who were also NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship recipients.

Streeter also served as the head men’s track & field coach at Gettysburg from 1976-78, guiding the Bullets to consecutive Middle Atlantic Conference titles in 1976-77 while coaching 10 student-athletes to All-America status.

A 1971 graduate of Lebanon Valley, Streeter earned two varsity letters as a tight end on the football team and two as a defenseman on the school’s lacrosse team. He went on to earn a master’s degree in health and physical education from Delaware in 1975 and was a graduate assistant on Tubby Raymond’s football staff at Delaware. Streeter became an astute student of the Delaware Wing-T, which is still the basis for Gettysburg’s Spread Wing offense.

In 2003, Streeter was inducted into Lebanon Valley’s Hall of Fame. In addition, he is a member of both the Adams County Chapter and the South Central Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

Streeter has two sons, Jason and Brandon, and two daughters, Kelly and Lindsey. Jason played football at Lehigh, and Brandon – a current assistant football coach at Clemson – was a starting quarterback for Clemson. Streeter and his wife Patricia are residents of Spring Grove, Pa.

A national search for Streeter’s successor will begin toward the end of the season.

Gettysburg will hold a celebration event in honor of Streeter following the team’s home game vs. Susquehanna on Oct. 28.