GNAC Football

Coaches Phone & E-Mail Directory

School	Head Coach	Phone	E-Mail
Central Washington	Blaine Bennett	509-963-1910	bennettb@cwu.edu
Dixie State	Ron Haun	435-652-7782	haun@dixie.edu
Humboldt State	Rob Smith	707-826-5947	res44@humboldt.edu
Western Oregon	Arne Ferguson	503-838-8981	fergusa@wou.edu
Western Washington	Robin Ross	360-650-3211	robin.ross@wwu.edu

Smith New Coach at Humboldt State

Former Western Washington head football coach Rob Smith has been selected as the new head football coach at Humboldt State University.

Smith becomes the 15th head coach in the history of the Lumberjack football program, which dates back to 1924. He replaces Doug Adkins, who resigned in November following eight years as head coach.

“Rob brings extensive experience as a Division II head coach, along with a record of student-athlete success in the classroom and on the field,” said HSU Director of Athletics Dan Collen, who made the final recommendation to hire.

“He also possesses the knowledge and enthusiasm that will energize our program.”

Smith, who has served as director of athletics at Grays Harbor Community College, for the last two years, stepped away from his position at WWU following the 2005 season.

During his 17-year career as the Vikings' head coach, Smith's teams posted a cumulative record of 109-62-1 for a .640 winning percentage.

His win total and winning percentage are the best in school history. A total of 48 athletes earned All-America recognition during his tenure.

Smith also guided the Vikings to five national playoff appearances, including a trip to the NAIA Division II National Championship game in 1996.

Smith directed Western to the school's first national playoff appearance in 1992 and its first postseason trip as a NCAA Division II member in 1999. The Vikings won six league titles under Smith, nearly half the school's total of 13.

He was named Columbia Football Association Coach of the Year in 1989, 1995, 1996, 1999 and 2000 and Great Northwest Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2001 and 2003.

Smith attended the University of Washington, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1981, lettering three years as a fullback and playing in the 1978 Rose Bowl.

Smith and wife Wendy have two children, daughter Alison, 13 and son Jared, 8.

Humboldt State posted a 2-8 record last season as an NCAA Division II independent. The Lumberjacks will compete this year in the Great Northwest Football Conference, which will offer football again after a two-year absence.

Bennett New Coach at Central Washington

Blaine Bennett, who spent six seasons as the head coach at Western Oregon University during the late 1990s, will return to the Pacific Northwest as the 22nd head football coach in the history of Central Washington University.

Bennett, 43, replaces Beau Baldwin, who resigned Jan. 4 after just one season at the helm of the CWU program to accept the same post at Eastern Washington University.

"I feel that the search committee did an extensively thorough job in a short amount of time," CWU athletic director Jack Bishop said. "Having gone through this process last year, we had candidates from last year and a few new ones from this year whom we needed to evaluate.

"All three candidates (Bennett, University of Missouri assistant Bruce Walker and former Washington State assistant Timm Rosenbach) did an excellent job, and all would have been good choices, but Blaine seemed to separate himself with each of the groups he met with.

"Each candidate brought a particular strength to the table, but I believe that Blaine brought the whole package," Bishop said.

Bennett returns to his native Washington after spending the past seven years coaching in the Midwest.

Six of those seasons were spent as an assistant coach in the Big Ten Conference, including five campaigns as the quarterbacks coach and recruiting coordinator at Purdue University, where he coached current Chicago Bears quarterback Kyle Orton.

Bennett spent the 2006 season as the assistant head coach and wide receivers coach at Michigan State before returning to Lafayette, Ind., for the 2007 season, where he served as the head coach at Lafayette Jefferson High School.

Prior to his stints in the Midwest, Bennett spent nine seasons at Western Oregon, including the final six (1995-2000) as head coach.

While coaching the Wolves, Bennett aided the university's transition from the NAIA to NCAA Division II levels, improving the program from a 2-7 campaign in his rookie head coaching season of 1995 into a NAIA playoff team and Columbia Football Association champion in 1997 when he was selected the CFA Coach-of-the-Year. He finished his six-year stint at WOU with a 27-32 head coaching record.

Bennett's father, Blaine "Shorty" Bennett was the head football coach at Ellensburg High School during the 1970s, where he led the Bulldogs to the Class AA state championship in 1973.

The younger Bennett split his childhood between Ellensburg and Walla Walla, graduating from Walla Walla High School in 1983.

He then spent three seasons with the University of Idaho program and two more at Whitworth College in Spokane, playing for Dennis Erickson and for his father, respectively.

During his two-year career at Whitworth, he completed 56.7 percent of his passes for 3,762 yards and 23 touchdowns.

Bennett is a 1987 graduate of Whitworth with a degree in secondary education and math, and he also owns a Master’s degree in physical education from Washington State University (1990).

Bennett will be joined in Ellensburg by his wife, Melissa, sons Blaine John (16) and Matthew (13), and daughter Brianne (15).