The Blitz: Is Schreiner closer to finding a head football coach?

The Blitz is filled with insider information on the athletic director searches at UTPB and West Texas A&M, Schreiner’s coaching search updates, and rumors that a SWJCFC head coach could be on the move.

*The Blitz is a weekly collection of stories and information obtained by our Non-FBS Insider each week.

  • The Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Non-FBS Power Poll - Summer Edition was released this week. Two-time defending Southwest Junior College Football champions and last year’s NJCAA national semifinalist Kilgore leads the rankings. UIW, three-time reigning Southern Athletic Association champion Trinity, Angelo State, and defending American Southwest Conference champion Hardin-Simmons round out the top five.

  • The National Football Foundation announced the names on the ballot for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame. Among the candidates are 101 players and 34 coaches from the “divisional ranks,” the Non-FBS nominees. The divisional player candidates include Texas Southern defensive lineman and NFL Hall of Famer Michael Strahan, Texas State running back and current head coach of the two-time reigning Class 6A state football champion DeSoto Eagles Claude Mathis, UT Arlington offensive tackle Bruce Collie, and Sam Houston running back Timothy Flanders. Former Trinity head coach Steve Mohr is the lone Texas Non-FBS representative. Mohr led the Tigers to the 2002 Stagg Bowl and 12 NCAA Division III playoff appearances. He holds the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference record for overall wins (186) and SCAC victories (96) and is the all-time winningest coach in program history.

FCS

NCAA Division II

  • A list of candidates for the next athletic director at UTPB was published on Monday. Since then, the outside-the-box candidate, Lonn Reisman, has accepted a job at Howard Payne, officially removing his name from contention. Sources have confirmed that representatives at UTPB have contacted multiple candidates on this list. The search committee will proactively find the right fit for the university and reach out to candidates who may still need to apply.

  • According to sources, the athletic director search at West Texas A&M is progressing slowly. Earlier this week, sources indicated that only 12 applications had been received. One name on the candidate list at UTPB to watch for at WT is Dr. Hunter Sims, the Director of Athletics at Howard Payne.

  • UTPB has added Zack Santolla to serve as defensive line coach and run game coordinator, the Emory & Henry College alum posted on X/Twitter. Santolla served as special teams analyst and quality control coach at Buffalo last year after a seven-year stint as defensive line coach and run game coordinator at Charleston.

NCAA Division III

NAIA

  • Texas Wesleyan released its 2024 football schedule, which includes home contests against Lindsey Wilson, North American, Arkansas Baptist, SAGU, Texas College, and Langston. However, the Rams' hopes of an outright Sooner Athletic Conference title will rest on their performance in road games against OUAZ in Week 2 and Louisiana Christian in the final week of the regular season.

NJCAA

  • Dodge City head coach Terry Karg resigned last Wednesday. Sources indicate one name to watch for that opening is Tyler head coach Tanner Jacobson. An opening at this point in the offseason could be fatal for the Apaches' chances in the Southwest Conference Junior Football Conference race this year.

  • Congratulations to Blinn for winning the NJCAA Division I baseball national title for the first time in school history. The No. 8 seed finished a convincing run to the title with a 12-5 victory over No. 4 Northwest Florida.

This article is available to our Digital Subscribers.
Click "Subscribe Now" to see a list of subscription offers.
Already a Subscriber? Sign In to access this content.

Sign In