Director of Athletics Laurel Hosmer has announced that Andy Waddle has been named the 19th head coach of the Valparaiso University football program.
Waddle will be formally introduced at a press conference and welcome reception on Wednesday, Dec. 11 at 10 a.m. CT time at the Athletics-Recreation Center. The event is free and open to the public and will also be streamed live on ESPN+.
A two-time Ohio Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, Waddle possesses over two decades of collegiate coaching experience including the last 12 years as the head coach at Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio. The Pioneers started the 2024 season 8-0, the first 8-0 start in program history. The program enjoyed a 13-game winning streak that spanned the end of the 2023 season and start of the 2024 campaign, tied for the longest in program history and the program’s longest since 1920. The 13-game winning streak was at the time tied with Army for the second longest active winning streak in all of NCAA college football, behind only Division-III SUNY-Cortland’s 20-game streak.
“We are thrilled to welcome Coach Waddle to the Valpo Athletics family,” Hosmer said. “His experience building success and winning culture as a head coach, passion for developing student-athletes on and off the field and high character made it clear he was the right leader for our football program. I’m confident Coach Waddle will continue to build on the foundation that has been laid and look forward to what our program will accomplish under his leadership.”
Waddle guided the squad to a combined 16-5 record and 14-2 mark in the NCAA Division-III Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) over the last two seasons. He successfully engineered a turnaround of the Marietta program, leading the team to a record of .500 or better in seven of the last eight years after the Pioneers had previously experienced nine consecutive losing seasons
“My family and I are extremely excited to be joining the Valpo community and for the opportunity to lead the Valpo Football Family,” Waddle said. “I think that there is a great group of young men on the roster, and we’re excited to invest in those student-athletes and continue to add more high-quality people and football players to the program. During my interview, I met some wonderful people who shared the same values and vision that I have. I think Valpo is not only an outstanding fit for me professionally, but also an outstanding fit for me and my family personally. We look forward to taking Valpo to the top of the Pioneer Football League.”
When Waddle took over as the head coach at Marietta prior to the 2013 season, he inherited a program that had won three or fewer games in each of the previous six years and was coming off an 0-10 season. Before Waddle’s eight-year run of sustained success that began in 2017, Marietta had a winning record just twice in a 20-year span. The program enjoyed as many winning seasons in Waddle’s final eight years as head coach as it had experienced in the previous 30 years combined.
The 2024 season culminated with Marietta’s second-ever postseason appearance and first since 1973 as the Pioneers competed in the Extra Points Bowl, hosted at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. After the 8-0 start, Marietta was ranked 22nd nationally by D3Football.com and 23rd by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). The Pioneers finished the 2024 campaign ranked among national leaders in the following categories – third-down conversion percentage defense (first, .250), redzone offense (eighth, .912), total defense (10th, 236.1), sacks per game (3.18, 16th ), total offense (453.9, 19th ), scoring offense (40.5, 21st ) and scoring defense (14.9, 23rd ).
Marietta placed 16 players on the All-OAC team in 2024 and had 101 total all-league selections during Waddle’s tenure. Following the 2023 campaign, Waddle was named the OAC Coach of the Year after leading Marietta to its highest win total since 1995. Waddle earned his first OAC Coach of the Year award in 2017 after leading the Pioneers to a 6-4 mark, the team’s first winning season in 11 years. During his time at Marietta, Waddle instructed 19 all-region performers, 20 All-Americans and three Academic All-Americans.
Prior to his dozen years leading the Marietta program, Waddle spent eight seasons at Wittenberg University, where he joined the staff in 2005 as the defensive secondary coach and was promoted to defensive coordinator a year later. Wittenberg won four North Coast Athletic Conference championships and made four NCAA playoff appearances in the seven seasons with Waddle running the defense. His 2009 defensive unit led all of the NCAA in total defense (189.9) and
scoring defense (8.85) and the program tied a school record with 12 wins.
Waddle began his coaching career in 2003 at Mansfield University (Pa.) as the defensive backs coach. The NCAA Division-II Mountaineers went 8-3, a six-game improvement over the previous season, and recorded the team’s first winning season in nearly 30 years. In 2004, Waddle served as the secondary coach at D-III Maryville College (Tenn.), where he helped the program win as many games as it had in the previous three seasons combined.
An all-conference defensive back, Waddle played for two North Coast Athletic Conference championship teams and made three NCAA playoff appearances at Wittenberg. He spent two seasons at the University of Findlay prior to transferring to Wittenberg. He was redshirted during the Oilers’ 1997 NAIA national championship season and was a starter the following year.
Waddle earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology from Wittenberg in 2003 and completed his master’s in executive leadership from Liberty University in 2014. A native of Enon, Ohio, Waddle and his wife Kerry Jean have a daughter, Hopelyn, and a son, Spencer. The Waddles are involved with the Be The Match Bone Marrow Registry and have raised nearly $20,000 while registering over 2,000 potential bone marrow donors.
What They’re Saying About Coach Waddle
Greg Harbaugh, co-Offensive Coordinator, University of Minnesota: “Andy hired me on his first staff at Marietta. It was his first opportunity at being a head coach and from the day I met him, he was relentless in his pursuit to not only win football games, but to lead young men. The growth his program showed over the years was a direct reflection of his work ethic and what he holds his program’s standards to."
Joe Fincham, Former Wittenberg University Head Coach, 1996-2021: “I’ve known Andy since his senior year of high school. No one embodies the mantra ‘Faith, Family and Football’ more than Andy Waddle. He will build an incredible culture within the Valpo Football program.”
Larry Kehres, Former University of Mount Union Head Coach, 1986-2012: “Andy built Marietta into a quality program from the ground floor up. His team plays excellent defense, has balance on offense and is rock solid on special teams."
Andy Talley, Former Villanova University Head Coach, 1985-2016, 2009 National Champion, Class of 2020 College Football Hall of Fame: “Andy Waddle is a great selection as the head football coach for Valparaiso. He will bring success to the football program immediately. His players will excel not only on the football field, but more importantly in the classroom.”
Andy Waddle Timeline
Valpo Head Coach – Present
Marietta College Head Coach – 2013-2024
Wittenberg University Defensive Coordinator – 2006-2012
Wittenberg University Secondary Coach – 2005
Maryville College Defensive Secondary Coach – 2004
Mansfield University Defensive Backs Coach – 2003
Valpo Football Head Coaching Timeline
George Keogan 1919-1920
Earl Goheen 1921-1922
William Shadoan 1923-1924
Millard Anderson 1925
Conrad Moll 1926
Earl Scott 1927-1928
J.M. Christiansen 1929-1940
Victor Dauer 1941
Loren Ellis 1942, 1945
Emory G. Bauer 1946-56, 1965-67
Emory G. Bauer, Walt Reiner 1957-1964
Norm Amundsen 1968-1976
Bill Koch 1977-1988
Tom Horne 1989-2004
Stacy Adams 2005-2009
Dale Carlson 2010-2013
Dave Cecchini 2014-2018
Landon Fox 2019-2024
Andy Waddle Present