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| Jay Locey inherits the
unenviable task of making Lewis and Clark competitive. L&C has
had just one year with a winning record since moving to
D-III. D3sports.com file photo by Todd Allred |
Lewis and Clark has hired Jay Locey, former Linfield head coach and most recently chief of staff at Oregon State, as its new head football coach, athletic director Shana Levine announced Tuesday. Locey, who coached the Wildcats to the 2004 Division III national championship -- the last one not won by UW-Whitewater or Mount Union -- has spent the past nine years at Oregon State.
The 10th head coach in Pioneer history, Locey is no stranger to the Northwest Conference, having served as coach of the Linfield Wildcats from 1996 to 2006. Locey takes over a program that finished the 2014 season 0-9 under Chris Sulages. Sulages resigned at the end of the 2014 season.
The Pioneers look to Locey to turn around a program that has struggled since the institution's transition from the NAIA to NCAA Division III. Transitioning in 1998, the Pioneers have put together a 33-115 overall record on the gridiron, while earning a 13-81 NWC standing in 16 seasons.
Locey has been named the Northwest Conference Coach of the Year five times, earning an 84-18 overall record with the Wildcats. Under Locey, the Wildcats won the 2004 NCAA Division III national championship and made the Division III playoffs six times. Locey guided Linfield to 41 consecutive wins, including a 23-game unbeaten streak in the Northwest Conference. In total Locey has coached 16 Division III All-Americans.
Over 23 years, Locey helped the Linfield Wildcats to win three national titles and 12 conference championships. In 2005 The Oregonian named Locey one of the state of Oregon’s top 25 most influential sports people. That same year Locey was named the Division III Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year.