Published: 11/19/2019
Gannon University has named Erik Raeburn as its next head football coach
Gannon University has named Erik Raeburn as its next head football coach, announcing the hire at a press conference Tuesday afternoon in the board room of Gannon’s Old Main.
Raeburn, who served as offensive coordinator for the Golden Knights during the 2019 season, brings more than three decades of experience in college football, including 19 seasons as a head coach.
“Erik is committed to both academic and athletic excellence,” Gannon Director of Athletics Lisa Goddard McGuirk said. “Moreover, he is committed to fostering a positive and transformative experience for our student-athletes. With Erik’s extensive experience, combined with his knowledge of our program and the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, he has the ability to begin building for success immediately. We are excited to welcome Erik as our next head football coach.”
“I am grateful to [Gannon President] Dr. Keith Taylor, [Vice President of Student Development and Engagement] Brian Nichols, and Lisa Goddard McGuirk and the rest of the administration for the opportunity to lead the Gannon University football program,” Raeburn said. “I also appreciate Brad Rzyczycki for welcoming me into the program, and I’m excited to get back to work with our student-athletes to continue building our program.”
Raeburn’s most recent stop prior to Gannon was as the head coach at Division I Savannah State, in Savannah, Georgia, where he led the Tigers for three seasons from 2016 to 2018. During that span, his student-athletes achieved the highest NCAA Academic Progress Rate in the program’s history.
Prior to his stop in Georgia, Raeburn was the head coach at Division III Wabash in Crawfordsville, Indiana, from 2008 to 2015. In those eight seasons, he led the Little Giants to a 78-13 overall record and won the North Coast Athletic Conference title three times (2008, 2011, 2015). He was named the conference Coach of the Year after finishing 12-1 and reaching the NCAA quarterfinals in 2011, one of five years his teams reached the NCAA playoffs.
In the 131-year history of the Wabash program, Raeburn’s winning percentage of .857 stands second, and his 78 wins place him third. The Little Giants earned 13 All-America honors during his time there, and placed 121 players on the all-conference team, including seven conference offensive or defensive players of the year.
Raeburn got his head coaching start at Division III Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he compiled a 57-26 record in eight seasons between 2000 and 2007. The Kohawks won three conference titles in the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (now American Rivers Conference), and Raeburn was named IIAC and regional Coach of the Year in 2002.
Coe went to the NCAA playoffs twice with Raeburn in charge, picking up the first playoff victory in program history in 2002. Raeburn produced 60 all-conference performers and six All-Americans in his time in Cedar Rapids.
A native of northeast Ohio, Raeburn got his college coaching start at his alma mater, national power Mount Union. In six years as an offensive line coach and offensive coordinator, he helped the Raiders to six Ohio Athletic Conference championships and three consecutive NCAA Division III national championships.
A 1994 graduate of Mount Union with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, Raeburn played for the Raiders from 1989-92, a span that saw the team go 37-5-2, win a pair of OAC championships and reach the 1992 NCAA semifinals.