Cerroni Named UW-Oshkosh’s Interim Head Football Coach
UW-Oshkosh defensive coordinator Pat Cerroni was named Thursday (Jan. 25) as the school's interim head football coach for the 2007 season.
Cerroni's appointment comes two days after Phil Meyer resigned as UW-Oshkosh's head football coach to become the offensive line coach at the University of Minnesota. Meyer had been the head football coach at UW-Oshkosh since the 2000 campaign.
A national search to fill UW-Oshkosh's permanent head coaching position will be launched this fall and concluded by the end of the 2007 football season.
"We're pleased to have Pat leading us for the upcoming 2007 season," said UW-Oshkosh Director of Athletics Allen Ackerman. "He will provide stability and consistency for our players and for our football program. This is an outstanding opportunity for Pat and we're all looking forward to a successful and exciting 2007 experience."
Cerroni, 41, has been UW-Oshkosh's defensive coordinator since the 2000 season. His position also included the supervision and guidance of all recruiting and summer camp activities related to the school's football program.
During the past seven seasons, especially the last five, Cerroni directed a UW-Oshkosh defense that ranked among the finest in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). Last fall, the Titans led the WIAC in red zone defense while ranking second in scoring defense and total defense. UW-Oshkosh also ranked second in the WIAC in total defense in 2003, 2004 and 2005 and third in 2002.
"I'm excited about this chance to lead the UW-Oshkosh football program," said Cerroni. "We all have worked hard to lay the foundation for this program the past seven years. My goal, and the goal of this staff, is to build on this foundation and keep it consistent. Our staff is committed to our players and we want all of them to be proud to be a Titan."
Cerroni came to UW-Oshkosh following three seasons as the head football coach at Menomonee Falls High School. In 1997, Cerroni guided the Indians to a 7-4 record and an upset of defending state champion Hartland Arrowhead High School in the first round of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) Division 1 Playoffs.
Prior to his head coaching stint at Menomonee Falls High School, Cerroni was as an assistant football coach at Hartland Arrowhead and Waukesha Catholic Memorial high schools. During his four seasons at Waukesha Catholic Memorial High School, Cerroni helped the Crusaders to Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association (WISAA) Division 1 state titles in 1993 and 1996.
Cerroni is a 1992 graduate of Carroll College, where he was a member of the school's 1988 football team that shared the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) title with Augustana College (Ill.). The Johnson Creek native earned his master's degree from UW-Oshkosh in 2004.
Cerroni and his wife, Tammy, are the parents of two children, daughter Kali and son Kyle.
UW-Oshkosh posted a 5-5 record last fall and finished fourth in the WIAC with a 3-4 mark. The Titans have won 17 games over the past three seasons for their third-highest, three-year total in the 112-year history of the school's football program. UW-Oshkosh has registered a non-losing record in each of the past three seasons for a feat last accomplished with the conclusion of the 1970 campaign.