GRAND FORKS, N.D. – North Dakota Fighting Hawks football has a new head coach in Mandan native and UND alumnus Eric Schmidt.
He spent last season as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at San Diego State.
Schmidt also spent two seasons at Washington as special teams coordinator and coach of edge defenders and two seasons as defensive line coach and special teams coordinator at Fresno State.
He also was the Fighting Hawks’ defensive coordinator from 2014 to 2019, linebackers coach from 2006 to 2007 and was a team captain and linebacker his senior season in 2001, the year North Dakota won the Division II Championship.
“I am excited to welcome back Coach Schmidt to North Dakota as our newest football coach. Eric brings a wealth of experience, a proven track record of success and a deep commitment to developing student-athletes on-and-off the field. I am confident that under his leadership, our football program will continue to build on the foundation that has been laid and compete for championships on both the conference and national stage,” University of North Dakota Athletics Director Bill Chaves said.
An introductory press conference is scheduled for Wednesday.
