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UW-Eau Claire has announced the hiring of Dan Larson as the head football coach. Larson, who has been the offensive coordinator at nationally ranked NCAA Division II Minnesota-Duluth the past three seasons, replaces Todd Glaser and takes over a program that has lost 27 of its last 30 games.
Larson will be introduced to the UW-Eau Claire campus community at a news conference on Wednesday, Jan. 13, at noon, in the Dakota Ballroom, located in the Davies University Center. The news conference will be open to the public.
"We are excited to welcome Coach Larson to our staff and his wife Erin, daughter Stella and son Oliver to the community," said athletic director Dan Schumacher. "His diverse coaching experience at the Division I and Division II level will lend itself well in Division III and is something I can definitely relate to. We look forward to starting a new era of Blugold football."
The Baldwin, Wis. native led the UMD offense that won the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) North Championship in 2013 and 2014 and were the co-champions in 2015. During his tenure, the Bulldogs won the overall NSIC conference championship in 2013, shared the title in 2014 and participated in the NCAA playoffs, reaching the quarterfinals in 2014. This season the Bulldogs participated in the Mineral Water Bowl after ranking in the top 10 nationally in red zone offense (90.5 percent) and time of possession (32:46 minutes) and 17th nationally for rushing yards per game (246.4).
Larson's offense has ranked in the top 15 nationally in several offensive categories in each of his seasons while also serving as the recruiting coordinator. The high-octane Bulldog offense also produced five All-Americans.
Prior to Duluth, Larson played an integral role at Macalester where his offense set seven school records and amassed the best three-year win total in the past 25 seasons for the Scots.
Larson spent two seasons at Division I FCS Colgate where he worked as the running backs coach and special teams coordinator in 2006 and 2007. During his final year with the Red Raiders, he tutored running back Jordan Scott, the 2007 FCS (NCAA I-AA) national rushing yardage leader.
"I am extremely honored and excited for this opportunity and the chance to bring a new direction to the UWEC Football program," said Larson. "As head football coach, I believe the academic reputation of UWEC, the community of Eau Claire and the direction of the athletic department create a great environment to build a successful and highly competitive football program."
Larson will begin his coaching duties January 13.