Superior Telegram
Curt Wiese has signed a three-year contract extension that will keep him as the University of Minnesota Duluth head football coach through the 2017 season, it was announced Wednesday by UMD Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Josh Berlo.
Wiese was in the final year of a two-year deal he signed after being appointed to the Bulldogs’ head coaching position on Dec. 21, 2012.
“We are extremely pleased that Curt will be running our football program for at least the next four years,” said Berlo. “Curt’s commitment to our core values embodied by the three “C’s” - competition, classroom and community - was clearly evident in his first season as our head coach. He took over a highly-successful and nationally-recognized program and sustained that level of excellence.”
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In his rookie year at the UMD helm, Wiese guided the Bulldogs to an 11-2 overall record, a berth in the NCAA Division II playoffs (where they bowed out in the second round to eventual national champion Northwest Missouri State University), a sixth Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference North Division title and a No. 8 national ranking in the final American Football Coaches Division II poll. Wiese’s troops also shined in the classroom this past fall as 14 Bulldogs earned NSIC All-Academic Team honors, including offensive lineman Andrew Pattock, who was named a first team CoSIDA Academic All-American.
For his exemplary efforts, Wiese was selected the 2013 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award winner for Division II, a prestigious honor recognizing coaches for their responsibility, integrity, sportsmanship and excellence, on and off the field.
“My family and I are grateful to UMD Chancellor Lendley Black and Athletic Director Josh Berlo for giving me the opportunity to remain part of the Bulldog family for the foreseeable future,” said Wiese, who served as UMD’s offensive coordinator for five seasons prior to his promotion to head coach. “I can’t say enough about how fortunate our football program is to have such tremendous support from UMD and the community. I look forward to building on the great Bulldog football tradition and bringing home some more national championships.”
Since Wiese’s arrival at UMD in 2008, the Bulldogs have gone 73-9 (for an .890 winning percentage - a figure unmatched by any NCAA II school) and captured two NCAA II national championships (2008 and 2010) along with five overall NSIC crowns while producing two perfect 15-0 seasons.
