Former APSU quarterback Christophel becomes program's 17th head coach
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Sp-07 CB/bk 03/23/176
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. ? Austin Peay State University has turned to its past to lead it back to the Ohio Valley
Conference, announcing Friday it has hired Rick Christophel as the 17th Governors Football coach at a press conference
on the APSU campus.
Christophel replaces Carroll McCray, who resigned in February to become an assistant coach at Furman University
after leading the Govs to a 3-8 mark. He takes over a football program that will return to OVC play in 2007 for the first time
since 1996.
"I was pleased with the quality of candidates in our head football coach pool, and more than one of those interviewed
had the ability to move our program forward," said Austin Peay president Dr. Sherry Hoppe. "The final selection was thus
very difficult. In the final analysis, though, I felt that Coach Christophel was the best match for APSU. I am confident not
only that he will provide the kind of leadership we need to be competitive in the OVC, but also that he will represent APSU
with character and integrity ? both with our team and with our community. I believe we made the right decision for the
right reasons and look forward to watching the success of our football program with Coach Christophel at the helm."
"I am excited to name Rick Christophel as our new coach," said Austin Peay athletics director
Dave Loos. "I believe
that Rick brings a variety of experience to this position. He is well versed on both sides of the ball and has administrative
experience that made him very appealing as a candidate. Also, he has worked for and with very knowledgeable coaches.
In addition, we believe he will be able to identify with the players, coaches, and alumni affiliated with our program."
Christophel, a 1975 graduate of Austin Peay, has more than 25 years of coaching experience and comes to Austin
Peay after a 10-year stint as an assistant at Alabama-Birmingham. He wore many hats while at UAB, serving as offensive
coordinator and coaching wide receivers from 1996-98, assistant head coach/wide receivers from 1999-00, defensive
coordinator in 2001, senior associate athletics director for internal affairs in 2002 and 2003, assistant head
coach/offensive line in 2004-05 and finally as defensive coordinator and nose guard/tackle coach in 2006-07.
As defensive coordinator during the 2001 season, his defense led the country in rushing yards allowed at 57.3 yards
per game, ranked fifth nationally in total defense (265.9) and was 16th in scoring defense at 18.7 points given up per
contest. In 1997, he coached Kevin Drake, who became the first offensive player in UAB history to go to the National
Football League when he signed a free-agent contract with the Arizona Cardinals (Drake later played on the NFL Europe
champion Rhein Fire and was signed by the Buffalo Bills).
Christophel has been associated closely with former Austin Peay head coach Watson Brown, recently hired as
Tennessee Tech's head coach. The two coached together for 22 of Christophel's 29 years in the profession. Christophel
began his college coaching career as an assistant at Austin Peay from 1979-81, beginning his tenure with Brown. In his
three years at APSU as an assistant coaching running backs and quarterbacks, the Govs recorded back-to-back 7-4
seasons, including a second-place 5-2 OVC mark in 1980.
Christophel then spent one year at Southern Arkansas (1982) before returning to coach with Brown at Cincinnati
(1983), Rice (1984-85) and Vanderbilt (1986-90). At Vanderbilt, Christophel coached quarterbacks and running backs
from 1986-88, was the team's defensive coordinator in 1989 and coached running backs in 1990.
Christophel went on to serve as assistant coach at Mississippi State from 1991-94 under head coach Jackie Sherrill,
coaching three future NFL wide receivers ? Olanda Truitt, Willie Harris and Eric Moulds. The Bulldogs participated in three
bowl games during that span ? the 1991 Liberty Bowl and the 1993 and 1995 Peach Bowls.
Prior to joining the collegiate coaching ranks full-time, Christophel served as a graduate assistant at Austin Peay
(1975) and coached three years at Highlands High School in Fort Thomas, Ky., before returning to APSU.
Christophel was a four-year starter at Austin Peay from 1971-74, playing safety his freshman year before moving to
quarterback for his final three seasons. He was twice selected as team captain. As the Govs signal-caller, he completed
175-of-384 passes for 2,073 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also had a hand in punting duties, averaging 35.1 yards per
punt during his career. Christophel finished his career ranked second in both passing yards and punting yards. He was
the first of three brothers to play at Austin Peay, his brothers Rick (1975-78) and Rob (1981-83) also played quarterback
for the Govs.
A native of Reading, Ohio, Christophel and his wife, Connie, have three daughters, Chrissy, Carrie and Sara.
- more -
The Christophel File:
Born ? Oct. 27, 1952
High School ? Reading (Ohio), 1971
College ?
Austin Peay (B.S., business administration), 1975
Austin Peay (M.A., education), 1976
Coaching Experience ?
Austin Peay, graduate assistant (1975-76)
Highlands (Ky.) High School, assistant coach (1976-78)
Austin Peay, assistant coach (1979-81)
Southern Arkansas, assistant coach (1982)
Cincinnati, assistant coach (1983)
Rice, assistant coach (1984-85)
Vanderbilt, assistant coach (1986-90)
- defensive coordinator (1989)
Mississippi State, assistant coach (1991-94)
Alabama-Birmingham, assistant coach (1995-07)
- offensive coordinator (1995-98)
- senior associate athletic director, internal affairs (2002-03)
- defensive coordinator (2001, 2006-07)
