Randy Awrey joins the Marietta College football staff as the defensive coordinator in 2012. Awrey comes to Marietta from Northern Michigan University where he served in the same capacity since 2007.
Awrey brings over 30 years of football coaching experience to the Pioneer program, including 18 as a collegiate head coach. His career record as a head coach is 124-68-1.
Prior to his stint at Northern Michigan, Awrey was the head coach at Saginaw Valley State University for nine seasons (1999-2007) where he led the Cardinals to a 76-27 overall record. He left Saginaw Valley as the all-time winningest coach in school history.
Northern Michigan and Saginaw Valley are members of the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC). The GLIAC, with four-time NCAA champion Grand Valley State, is widely considered the top Division II football conference in the country.
Awrey led Saginaw Valley to GLIAC titles in 2000 and 2003. He took SVSU to five appearances in the NCAA II playoffs and was named Region and GLIAC coach of the year in 2003.
Awrey’s Northern Michigan defenses consistently ranked at the top of the GLIAC in total defense, passing defense and scoring defense.
Awrey’s other head coaching stops have been at Lakeland College (1994-98), and at Kentucky Wesleyan College (1990-93).
He was an assistant coach at St. Lawrence University (1982-85), Michigan Tech (1982-85), Northern Michigan (1980-81) and at Westwood High School (1979).
A native of Iron Mountain, Mich., Awrey was a four-year starter for Northern Michigan. He was a defensive back as a freshman before switching to running back. Awrey was named the MVP in the 1975 national championship game when NMU claimed the national title. Awrey was inducted into the NMU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998.
Awrey earned two bachelor’s degrees from NMU, in criminal justice (1978) and physical education (1981). He earned his master’s degree in educational administration from NMU in 1986.
Awrey and his wife Connie have four children, Jennifer, Bobby, Tony and Nicky, who will play football for the Pioneers in the fall.
