The DePauw athletic department made a big change last fall and hired Indiana Football Hall of Fame Inductee Bill Lynch to coach the football team.
Lynch graduated from Butler University where he lettered all four years in football and basketball. Lynch was the captain of the football team during his senior year, and in that season he made 60 touchdown passes, setting the school's all-time record. Lynch earned the Associated Press Little All-America Honors as the Butler quarterback for 1974-1976.
Lynch stayed at Butler after graduating in 1977 where he held various titles including offensive coordinator, quarterback and wide receiver coach and recruiting coordinator.
Lynch took over his first head coaching position, when he returned to Butler after a hiatus of two years. He guided the Bulldogs to a record of 36-13-3 in his four-year stint.
In 2004, Lynch took the reigns of the DePauw program. He piloted the Tigers to a record of 8-2. That record included a 14-7 win over rival Wabash College in the 2004 Monon Bell Classic. That year, Lynch became the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. His offense ranked 16th in Division III for rushing yards with an average of 254.6 yards per game. During his tenure, seven players earned All-SCAC football team honors.
Lynch's most recent coaching assignment came at Division I powerhouse Indiana University. He led the Hoosier's from 2007 until 2010. He was the first coach in Indiana history to take his team to a bowl game in his first year of coaching.
Now, Lynch has made a return to DePauw and is looking to have the same success he had in 2004. After a 2-8 campaign last season, Lynch feels optimistic.
"Any football program has some down years," Lynch said. "We've got seniors on this football team that just played in the playoffs [in 2010], so it's not that far away."
Coach Lynch is quick to express his love for DePauw and his love of coaching college student-athletes.
"I had the itch to get back into coaching, particularly at a place that I had been, and I knew what a great place DePauw is," Lynch said.
The vibe among the players is very positive regarding his return. Junior quarterback Drew Seaman feels that Lynch has ushered in a new era to DePauw football by changing the way their program runs.
"There's a higher energy at practice," Seaman said. "Guys are excited just to be out there. The biggest change he's made is personal accountability. Team captains are holding players more accountable."
The second Coach Lynch era of DePauw football kicks off this Saturday as the Tigers head to Tennessee to face Sewanee: The University of the South. The teams last faced one another in 2011. Sewanee beat DePauw with a 30-7 rout. Senior running back Andrew Cusumano played in that game and understands the challenges of facing a triple option offense.
The offense has been helping the defense prepare," Cusumano said. "It's tricky, and the defense has to always be on their toes because those guys could be going anywhere."
However, the addition of Lynch has bolstered the team's confidence.
"Coach Lynch is a proven winner, " Cusumano said. " We haven't seen this with our old coaches. His experience has given us a lot more confidence in our abilities."
While he knows that it has been difficult, Lynch has been keeping his players from looking ahead to the rivalry game with Wabash in November.
"One thing I preach all the time is that we have to be process driven. We have to work hard to get better every day and take each challenge as it comes," Lynch said. "The only game that we're worried about right now is Sewanee on Saturday."
His players mirror this statement.
"It's difficult because [the Monon Bell game is] what our entire year is built around and that's the culture here," Seaman said. "However, Coach Lynch keeps us focused on one week at a time."