Zak Willis

Zak Willis (born December 30, 1967) is a former American football coach. He Willis served as the head football coach at Pikeville College—now the University of Pikeville—from 2000 to 2002, at Newberry College from 2003 to 2008, and at Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky, from 2014 to 2016.

Zak Willis
Biographical details
Born (1967-12-30) December 30, 1967
Laurinburg, North Carolina
Playing career
1986–1987Furman
Position(s)Defensive end
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2000–2002Pikeville
2003–2008Newberry
2009–2011Michigan State (GA)
2011–2012Miami (OH) (ST/RC)
2014–2016Union (KY)
Head coaching record
Overall61–60
Tournaments1–1 (NCAA D-II playoffs)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2 SAC (2006, 2008)
Awards
SAC Coach of the Year (2006)

Coaching career

Willis was the first head football coach at Pikeville College in Pikeville, Kentucky. He held that position for three seasons, from 2000 until 2002. His coaching record at Pikeville was 16–12.

In December 2002, Willis was named head coach at Newberry College in Newberry, South Carolina. While at Newberry he helped engineer one of the biggest turnarounds in college football. Willis's teams won the only two South Atlantic Conference championships in Newberry's history (2006, 2008 co-champions). During this time period, Newberry also emerged as a leader academically, posting the highest team GPA for any college football team in the South Atlantic Conference (2006, 2007). Willis's teams were also ranked in the top 25 in the nation for 29 consecutive weeks between 2006 and 2008. They posted a 15-game home win streak and an overall home record of 20–1 over the last three seasons of his tenure. Willis's overall record at Newberry College was 39–25 (.609), giving him the highest win percentage in Newberry football history. In Willis's nine-year career as a head coach he coached 69 all-conference performers, 40 All-Region players, and 16 All-Americans. Willis was fired from Newberry shortly after the 2009 spring game.

In 2009, Willis joined the staff at Michigan State University as a graduate assistant,[1] working with the offensive line and in recruiting. Even though Willis went to Division 1A from D2, the graduate assistant position was considered a big step down; graduate assistants are usually reserved for students just graduating, hence the name. In 2010, the Spartans won their first Big Ten Conference championship in 20 years, and participated in the 2011 Capital One Bowl. In 2011, Willis was hired by Don Treadwell as recruiting coordinator and special teams coordinator at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. His 2011 kickoff team led the nation in kickoff return yards allowed. The Miami recruiting class of 2012, under Willis's coordination, was ranked number one in the Mid-American Conference, a first since 2007.

In April 2014, Willis was introduced as the new head coach at Union College in Barbourville, Kentucky. That fall the Bulldogs went 1–9. Another 1-9 season in 2015.

Personal life

Willis resides in Barbourville with his wife and three children.

Head coaching record

Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs
Pikeville Bears (Independent (club)) (2000)
2000 Pikeville 7–1
Pikeville Bears (Mid-South Conference) (2001–2002)
2001 Pikeville 3–72–57th
2002 Pikeville 6–44–4T–4th
Pikeville: 16–126–9
Newberry Indians / Newberry (South Atlantic Conference) (2003–2008)
2003 Newberry 3–72–5T–5th
2004 Newberry 5–61–68th
2005 Newberry 5–44–33rd
2006 Newberry 11–26–11stL NCAA Division II Second Round
2007 Newberry 9–24–2T–3rd
2008 Newberry 6–45–2T–1st
Newberry: 39–25
Union (Kentucky) Bulldogs (Mid-South Conference) (2014–2016)
2014 Union 1–91–5T–6th (East)
2015 Union 1–91–55th (East)
2016 Union 4–5[n 1]3–2[n 1](East)[n 1]
Union: 6–235–12
Total:61–60
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

Notes

  1. Willis resigned after nine games of the 2016 season. Andre Linn was appointed as interim head coach to replace him. Union finished the season with an overall record of 5–6 and a conference mark of 4–2, placing third in the East Division of Mid-South Conference.

References

  1. "Zak Willis Profile". CBS Sports.com College Network. Retrieved February 13, 2011.
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