MOUNT VERNON, IOWA . . . Vince Brautigam, who most recently led a turnaround effort at the University of Dubuque, has been named Cornell College's new head football coach.
Brautigam (pronounced BRAUGH-tee-gum), a native of Covington, Ky., returns to the Iowa Conference sidelines after a one-year hiatus from coaching. He concluded a successful eight-year run at Dubuque after the 2008 season. Brautigam guided the Spartans to their first back-to-back winning seasons in nearly three decades and an NCAA Division III national ranking in 2007.
Brautigam, 45, replaces Matt Dillon, who resigned Nov. 16 after going 6-34 in four seasons at the helm. The Rams are coming off a 2009 campaign in which they finished 2-8 overall, 1-7 in the IIAC.
"I am extremely honored," said Brautigam, who is Cornell's fifth head coach since 1959. "I thank President Garner, (director of athletics) John Cochrane, the Board of Trustees and the Cornell community for giving me the opportunity to lead this great institution and become their next head football coach. The athletic program has strong leadership and I have a tremendous amount of respect for John Cochrane. Cornell has an outstanding academic reputation nationally which I am proud to be a part of."
Brautigam brings to the Hilltop 21 years of coaching experience at the NAIA, NCAA Division II and Division III levels, including 19 seasons as a head coach. He held head positions at Dubuque (2001-08) and NAIA's Mount Senario College (1990-2000) and was an assistant at Division II's St. Cloud State University (1988-89).
Brautigam's teams have claimed nine conference championships, eight of them at Mount Senario. In all three of his previous stops, Brautigam's squads reached top-25 status nationally in their respective polls.
"We entered this process searching for an individual who could sell, motivate and lead," Cochrane said. "Vince Brautigam brings 19 years of collegiate head coaching experience and demonstrated consistent success in his ability to effectively recruit and retain student-athletes at the levels necessary to build and sustain quality programs. He is passionately committed to the individual development of young men and understands what it takes to compete and win in the Iowa Conference.
"I am excited to bring Vince's energy, expertise and work ethic to our football program. I believe he is exactly the right person to lead us forward."
Brautigam revamped a struggling Dubuque program, where he inherited 21 student-athletes in his initial year. With an emphasis on recruiting numbers, the Spartans' roster grew exponentially with 110-plus players in each of his final six seasons. Brautigam started the program's first junior varsity program and also organized the team's first strength and conditioning program.
Brautigam's 2006 squad finished 6-4 and snapped a 19-year losing streak. The Spartans followed that up with a 7-3 record in 2007. It marked the program's first consecutive winning seasons since 1979-80. Dubuque established 47 school records and fielded 36 all-conference players, nine all-region selections, two all-Americans and two Aztec Bowl participants under Brautigam. He mentored 15 academic all-conference players and four ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District performers.
"I had an opportunity to rebuild the football program at Dubuque, become competitive in the Iowa Conference and compete for league titles," Brautigam said. "Our goal at Cornell is to get to 75-plus student-athletes in a short amount of time and be able to add a junior varsity program. Our expectation is to win and to win right away."
Brautigam rebuilt a Mount Senario program that had only 19 players on the team upon his arrival. His roster quickly expanded to more than 100 players in each of his last eight seasons in Ladysmith, Wis. Brautigam, who also served as Mount Senario's director of athletics, left the program as its winningest football coach with a 68-47 mark. He led the Fighting Saints to a school-record eight conference championships in 11 seasons.
Brautigam, a four-time Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Coach of the Year (1993, 1994, 1996, 1999), led Mount Senario to an NAIA top-25 national ranking in 1999 and 2000. He was twice a finalist for NAIA Coach of the Year and was head coach of the National All-Star Football Classic. Brautigam coached a school-best 84 first team all-conference selections, 24 all-Americans and six NAIA Scholar Athletes.
Brautigam began his coaching career at St. Cloud State, where he coached wide receivers and outside linebackers for two seasons. In 1989, he helped lead the Huskies to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Playoffs and a North Central Conference championship.
Brautigam graduated from Iowa Wesleyan College in 1988 with a bachelor's of science degree in physical education. He earned a master's of science degree in athletic administration from St. Cloud State in 1990.
Brautigam and his wife Allison reside in Dubuque and have two sons, Nick, 19, and Zack, 16. Nick is a freshman on a football scholarship at Division II Northern Michigan University. Zack is a junior at Dubuque Wahlert High School.
Cornell graduates only five seniors from its 52-player roster. The Rams bring back 47 letterwinners and 18 starters. The team returns 10 offensive starters, including record-setting freshman quarterback Andrew Burdick.
"I think Cornell has a very good nucleus coming back," Brautigam said. "The program is surrounded with a very good and stable coaching staff, things you need to build a successful football program. We just have to recruit depth and add a few more pieces to the puzzle."
