J. J. Eckert
J. J. Eckert is an American football coach. He is the current head football coach at Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. He was previously head coach at Kilgore College in Texas and Garden City Community College in Kansas.[1] Eckert is also the son of long-time Northeastern State head coach Tom Eckert.
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Northeastern State |
| Conference | MIAA |
| Record | 0–11 |
| Playing career | |
| 1994–1997 | Northeastern State |
| Position(s) | Quarterback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1998–1999 | Northeastern State (QB/WR) |
| 2000 | Kilgore College (QB/WR) |
| 2001–2004 | Kilgore College (OC) |
| 2005–2006 | Garden City CC |
| 2007–2018 | Kilgore College |
| 2019–present | Northeastern State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 0–11 (college) 85–61 (junior college) |
| Bowls | 1–5 (junior college) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 2 SWJCFC (2015, 2018) 3 SWJCFC regular season (2007, 2012, 2018) | |
| Awards | |
| SWJCFC Coach of the Year (2018) | |
Playing career
In high school, Eckert was starting quarterback at Tahlequah High School for two seasons. He was also a Tulsa World All-Stater in 1993.
After a year at the University of Central Arkansas, Eckert transferred to Northeastern State University in 1994 to play quarterback under head coach Tom Eckert, his father.[2] He was a part of the teams that won the NAIA National Championship in 1994 and were National Runner-Ups in 1995.[3]
Coaching career
Eckert began his coaching career as a quarterback and wide receivers coach at Northeastern State in 1998. In 2000, he was hired by Jim Rieves at Kilgore College, a junior college in Kilgore, Texas, for the same position. The following season, he became Kilgore's offensive coordinator.[4]
In 2005, Eckert became the head coach at Garden City Community College in Garden City, Kansas. During his two-year stint there, the Broncbusters won 13 games and made a bowl appearance.[5]
In 2007 Eckert returned to Kilgore as their head coach. Over the next 12 seasons, he led Kilgore to a 72–53 record, two Southwest Junior College Football Conference championships, three regular season conference titles, and five bowl appearances.[6] Eckert was awarded as Conference Coach of the Year in 2018 after a 10-2 championship season.[7]
In December 2018, Eckert returned to Northeastern State as their 20th head football coach.[8]
Personal life
Eckert and his wife, Amanda, have three children.[9] He is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation.[10]
Head coaching record
Junior college
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garden City Broncbusters (Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference) (2005–2006) | |||||||||
| 2005 | Garden City | 7–4 | 6–1 | 2nd | L Dixie Rotary Bowl | ||||
| 2006 | Garden City | 6–4 | 4–3 | 4th | |||||
| Garden City: | 13–8 | 10–4 | |||||||
| Kilgore College Rangers (Southwest Junior College Football Conference) (2007–2018) | |||||||||
| 2007 | Kilgore College | 8–4 | 5–1 | 1st | L C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl | ||||
| 2008 | Kilgore College | 6–4 | 5–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 2009 | Kilgore College | 4–6 | 3–3 | 4th | |||||
| 2010 | Kilgore College | 4–6 | 3–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 2011 | Kilgore College | 3–6 | 2–4 | 6th | |||||
| 2012 | Kilgore College | 8–3 | 5–1 | T–1st | L Brazos Valley Bowl | ||||
| 2013 | Kilgore College | 4–5 | 3–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 2014 | Kilgore College | 7–3 | 4–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 2015 | Kilgore College | 7–5 | 3–3 | 4th | L C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl | ||||
| 2016 | Kilgore College | 6–5 | 4–3 | 2nd | L Mississippi Bowl | ||||
| 2017 | Kilgore College | 5–4 | 4–3 | T–4th | |||||
| 2018 | Kilgore College | 10–2 | 6–2 | T–1st | W C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl | ||||
| Kilgore College: | 72–53 | 47–30 | |||||||
| Total: | 86–61 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
College
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northeastern State RiverHawks (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association) (2019–present) | |||||||||
| 2019 | Northeastern State | 0–11 | 0–11 | 12th | |||||
| Northeastern State: | 0–11 | 0–11 | |||||||
| Total: | 0–11 | ||||||||
References
- "Eckert leaving to become head coach at Northeastern State University - Longview News-Journal". news-journal.com. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
- "Eckert Taking Care of Business for NSU, Dad - Tulsa World". tulsaworld.com. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
- "J.J. Eckert named next NSU head football coach - Tahlequah Daily Press". tahlequahdailypress.com. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
- "Kilgore College Football History (2000-2016)- Kilgore College" (PDF). kilgore.edu. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
- "Dixie Rotary Bowl - Utah Valley Daily Herald". heraldextra.com. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
- "Eckert leaving KC for alma mater - Kilgore News Herald". kilgorenewsherald.com. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
- "MIAA Football Media Day set for Wednesday - Tahlequah Daily Press". tahlequahdailypress.com. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
- "NSU announces J.J. Eckert as Head Football Coach- NSU Athletics". goriverhawksgo.com. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
- "Staff Directory - NSU Athletics". goriverhawksgo.com. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
- "Eckert hopes to revive Northeastern State's football fortunes - Cherokee Phoenix". cherokeephoenix.org. Retrieved November 18, 2020.