For Immediate Release

Illinois College taps Carthage assistant as new head coach

After a successful apprenticeship as a top assistant, Garrett M. Campbell will fill a new role this fall as head football coach at Illinois College.

Campbell, the offensive coordinator at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wis., the past four years, will fill the position left vacant in March when Aaron Keen accepted a coaching position at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Illinois College Athletic Director Gale Vaughn said the coaching job attracted interest from more than 125 candidates. Campbell was the choice of the campus selection committee following a process that lasted nearly a month.

“Garrett Campbell has all the qualities that are critical for success at the NCAA Division III level,” Illinois College Athletic Director Gale Vaughn said in making the announcement. “He is committed to the success of student-athletes and passionate in his approach to teaching and coaching the sport,” Vaughn added. “We like what Garrett has accomplished and we are eager to see him extend that kind of success at Illinois College.”

Campbell will take over a program that posted a 23-27 mark under Keen, including a 4-6 record in 2007. The Blueboys compete in the Midwest Conference, and Illinois College has sponsored competition in football since 1891.

“I am excited about the challenge of taking IC football to a place where it will be recognized on a national level,” the new head coach said of his new gridiron role. “Our young men will have high expectations placed upon them, both on and off the field.”

A California native, Campbell earned his bachelor’s degree at California State University at Fullerton in 1998 and the M.S. in education from Northern State University in 2002. He was an assistant coach at Fullerton College from 1997-99, Northern State U. in 2000 and Willamette University in 2001 before accepting the offensive coordinator job at Menlo College in 2002. At Menlo, Campbell was instrumental in developing that program into a consistent leader among the nation’s top Division III offensive teams.

He moved to Carthage in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin in 2004 and was a key member of a coaching staff that posted 31 wins over the past four seasons. The 2004 Carthage team finished 11-2, won the CCIW title and reached the national quarterfinals of the NCAA D-III championship playoffs.

The new IC skipper was ranked as one of the nation’s top prospects for a head coaching position by American Football Monthly prior to the 2004 season. Under his direction, Carthage set school records for rushing,, passing and scoring, and moved into the upper tier of D-III football programs in the Midwest.

Campbell and his wife, Melissa, live in Sturtevant, Wis., with their daughters, Olivia (age 9) and Hayden (age 2).

Illinois College anticipates approximately 80 candidates to report in early August when pre-season conditioning drills begin. The Blueboys open at home September 6 against Millikin University.