UW-Oshkosh Head Football Coach Going To University of Minnesota
UW-Oshkosh will search for its 21st head football coach following the resignation of Phil Meyer on Tuesday (Jan. 23).
Meyer relinquished his UW-Oshkosh position of seven years to become the offensive line coach at the University of Minnesota. Meyer joins the staff of Tim Brewster, who recently assumed the University of Minnesota's head coaching position after spending the past two seasons as the tight ends coach with the National Football League's Denver Broncos.
Meyer helped restore pride in UW-Oshkosh's NCAA Division III football program during his tenure as head coach. The Titans won 17 games over the past three seasons for their third-highest, three-year total in the 112-year history of the program. UW-Oshkosh registered a non-losing record in each of the past three seasons for a feat last accomplished with the conclusion of the 1970 campaign.
Meyer, 50, compiled a 31-38 coaching record at UW-Oshkosh, including a 16-4 record in non-conference games. Prior to his appointment on April 20, 2000, it took the Titans 10 seasons (1990-99) to surpass 30 victories.
"I'm very excited to join Tim Brewster's staff at the University of Minnesota," said Meyer. "To coach again in the Big Ten Conference will be very a challenging and rewarding experience."
Last fall, UW-Oshkosh posted a 5-5 record and finished fourth in the WIAC with a 3-4 mark. Among the setbacks were losses of 33-22 to NCAA Division II Minnesota State University, 17-3 to eventual WIAC champion UW-Whitewater and 31-20 to UW-La Crosse. UW-Whitewater was ranked second in the NCAA Division III when it battled UW-Oshkosh and UW-La Crosse eighth.
In 2005, Meyer guided the Titans to a 7-3 record, including a third-place 4-3 mark in the WIAC. UW-Oshkosh's overall victory total was its highest since 1976, while its WIAC victory count was its best since 1991. UW-Oshkosh began the year with a 6-1 record for its best start to a season since 1935.
In 2004, Meyer coached UW-Oshkosh to a 5-5 overall record and the school's first non-losing football season since 1995. In 2003, highlighted by a 15-7 win over 11th-ranked UW-Stout, Meyer led the Titans to a 4-6 overall record. Meyer guided the Titans to a 4-6 overall record in 2002.
During his first two seasons at UW-Oshkosh, Meyer led the Titans to wins over the defending WIAC champion. UW-Oshkosh accomplished that feat with victories of 38-31 over UW-Stevens Point in 2000 and 19-7 over UW-Stout in 2001. The Titans posted a 3-6 overall record in 2001 and a 3-7 overall mark in 2000.
"My seven years as UW-Oshkosh's head football coach have been very special to me and my family. I thank the Oshkosh community for their support of the UW-Oshkosh football program."
Meyer came to UW-Oshkosh from Iowa State University, where he tutored the quarterbacks for two seasons and the tight ends and special teams for three. In 1998, Meyer coached Todd Bandhauer, the first quarterback in Iowa State University history to notch a pair of 2,000-yard passing seasons.
Meyer attended Milwaukee Pius XI High School (Wis.), where he was a starter on the Popes' 1972 Wisconsin Independent Schools Athletic Association (WISAA) state championship football team. He went on to play one season of college football at UW-Milwaukee and three at Illinois State University. In all, Meyer started 44 straight games in the defensive secondary for the two schools.
Following free agent tryouts with the National Football League's Chicago Bears and the Canadian Football League's Montreal Allouettes, Meyer returned to Illinois State University in 1980 to take a graduate assistant football coaching position.
Meyer served as an assistant football coach at New Berlin Eisenhower High School (Wis.) in 1981. Meyer then went on to help coach the offensive line for University of Illinois teams that participated in the Liberty Bowl in 1983 and the Rose Bowl in 1984. Among the players on the University of Illinois squad was Brewster, a two-time All-Big Ten Conference selection at tight end.
Meyer then moved on to Southeast Missouri State University, where he coached football from 1984 to 1988, including three years as the Indians' offensive coordinator. Among his coaching associates at Southeast Missouri University was Jon Gruden, the current head coach of the National Football League's Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Following his tenancy at Southeast Missouri State University, Meyer went on to become the offensive coordinator at Southern Illinois University from 1989 to 1993 and Illinois State University in 1994.
Meyer received a pair of academic degrees from Illinois State University, a bachelor's degree in 1979 and a master's degree in 1980.
Meyer and his wife, Brandi, and have two daughters, Miranda and Madison.