Andy Waddle

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The start of the 2006 football season is just weeks away, and Wittenberg Head Coach Joe Fincham’s staff is now completely in place.

New faces abound on the staff this year, including offensive coordinator Andy Mitchel. The offensive coordinator for the last three seasons at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa, Mitchel takes over for Al Logan, who returned to his alma mater, Muskingum College, to serve in the same capacity.

On the other side of the ball, Wittenberg’s new defensive coordinator is Andy Waddle, Wittenberg class of 2003, who returned to his alma mater in 2005 as the team’s defensive backs coach. In his first season on the Wittenberg sidelines, Waddle coached a pair of All-North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) safeties and helped the Tigers record three shutouts while allowing just 15 points in five dominating victories. He takes over for Kelly Cummings, who resigned after six years at Wittenberg to join the staff at the University of Findlay.

Three other newcomers will be working full-time in the Wittenberg football offices, starting with defensive line coach Jordan Gigli, a former all-conference defensive tackle at Tri-State University in Angola, Ind., and most recently an assistant coach at Western Illinois University in Macomb, Ill. Former all-conference linebacker Ryan Gresham, Wittenberg class of 2004, returns to his alma mater this fall to coach his old position after helping Columbus Brookhaven High School to a 9-2 record a year ago. Also, J.R. Dorman, most recently an assistant on the Denison University staff in 2005, will take over the wide receivers.

In addition, Mark Ewald is moving from wide receivers to running backs to start his 11th year on the staff. He has coached some of the finest wide receivers in school history, including Russ Fedyk, Michael Aljancic, Skip Ivery and Jered Glover, all of whom rank in the top 10 in Wittenberg’s career receiving records. Rob Linkhart, Wittenberg class of 1999, is moving from running backs, where he coached all-conference standouts Raymar Hampshire, Andy Vanover and Tristan Murray, to cornerbacks, the position he played while wearing the Red & White. Finally, Tom Mescher will be back coaching tight ends for a second year after guiding Nate Cherry to all-conference honors a year ago.

Mitchel implemented a pro-spread offensive system to great effect at Simpson, which made the 2003 NCAA Division III Tournament while leading the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) and ranking in the top 10 nationally in passing offense.

Mitchel got his professional start at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville from 2000-2002. With Mitchel serving as quarterbacks and wide receivers coach, Wisconsin-Platteville ranked No. 1 nationally in passing in 2001 and led the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) in total offense and passing offense in 2001 and 2002. He has coached three All-Americans and 15 all-conference performers in his career.

Mitchel also enjoyed tremendous success as a player at the NCAA Division III level, garnering three all-conference awards as a wide receiver at Hanover College. During his career at Hanover from 1996-99, Mitchel played on teams that won two conference championships, advanced to two NCAA Division III Tournaments and compiled a sparkling 35-7 overall record. He holds a bachelor of science in physical education and health education from Wisconsin-Platteville, earned in 2003.

“I am excited to become part of the great Wittenberg football tradition,” Mitchel said. “This is a great opportunity for me, and I look forward to working with the fine coaching staff and outstanding players involved in the program.”

Waddle played for two NCAC championship teams and three NCAA Division III Tournament qualifiers in his three years at Wittenberg after transferring from Findlay in 1999. At Findlay, Waddle was red-shirted during an NAIA national championship season in 1997 and was a starter for the Oilers the following year. In 2000, he tied an NCAA record for blocked punts in a game in his first appearance in the Red & White, turning away three Urbana attempts in the season opener.

Waddle earned first-team All-NCAC honors as a safety in football and a sprinter in track and field during his collegiate career. After graduating from Wittenberg in 2003 with a degree in sociology, Waddle spent one season each at Mansfield University ( Pa.) and Maryville College ( Tenn.), helping both to significant defensive improvements. He will continue to coach defensive backs in 2006, in addition to his defensive coordinator duties.

“This university and its football program are very special to me,” Waddle said. “The opportunity to become the defensive coordinator of a program with such a great tradition is an honor. I look forward to the challenge of putting Wittenberg back on top in the NCAC.”

Wittenberg football leads all of NCAA Division III in total wins by a wide margin and has had just three non-winning seasons since 1955. Wittenberg has five national titles and two national runner-up finishes to its credit and has won the NCAC championship seven times since 1992.

The Tigers are coming off a 5-5 season in 2005, including a record of 5-2 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, good for third place in the final standings. Fincham is entering his 11th season at the helm with a record of 93-19, good for a win percentage of .830, among the best in NCAA Division III for head coaches with at least five years of experience.

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