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At a press conference
Monday morning, Todd Mooney was named the first head football coach at
LaGrange College. The school announced last fall that it would begin
gridiron competition in fall 2006.
Mooney, 39, currently
serves as defensive backs coach and assistant baseball coach at Rhodes
College in Memphis, Tenn.
His hiring ended a
four-month search process that attracted more than 170 applicants
representing every region of the country and every major collegiate
association and division. The applicants’ coaching backgrounds
ranged from high school and college to professional football
experience.
“We are extremely
pleased that Todd will become our first football coach,” LaGrange
College President Stuart Gulley said. “His hiring begins a new
campus sport that will not only add to the student-life experience
here, but also will help us meet some key strategic goals.”
LaGrange College
Athletics Director Phil Williamson, chair of the search committee,
said Mooney had the credentials the college was looking for.
“Todd comes very
highly recommended by his peers at Rhodes,” Williamson said. “The
search committee, coaches and students who have met with Todd have
been very impressed with his openness, candor and enthusiasm for the
opportunity to become our football coach.”
Mooney has served at
Rhodes for six years. Like LaGrange College, the school is an NCAA
Division III member.
“The opportunity to
be named head coach for the first time in your career is extremely
exciting, and having that first head coaching position also be the
first in LaGrange College history is humbling to say the least,”
Mooney said.
“I’m extremely
grateful to Dr. Gulley, the trustees, Dr. Linda Buchanan, Phil
Williamson, the search committee and all those who have obviously put
a great deal of time and effort into making the football program a
reality.”
A Westerville, Ohio,
native, Mooney holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in
athletic administration from Ohio University. He started his coaching
career as a graduate assistant at Ohio and later was the defensive
coordinator and secondary coach for five years at Urbana (Ohio)
University. While at Urbana, Mooney also served as interim head coach.
Before coming to
Rhodes, he worked at Oberlin (Ohio) College as the offensive
coordinator and offensive line coach for a season, before switching to
defense as the coordinator and secondary coach.
Mooney and his wife,
Kelly, are the parents of a daughter, Jessica, and a son, Todd Jr.
Kelly serves as the head athletic trainer for Rhodes College.
For more information regarding LaGrange
College, please visit www.lagrange.edu.
Lane Young
Rhodes
College Football
Alumni Association
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