HEAD COACH DANNY HALE

The Bloomsburg University football team is under the leadership of Danny Hale, one of the winningest coaches in the NCAA Division II ranks.

Hale will begin his 16th season at the helm of the Huskies in 2008 and also spent five years as head coach at West Chester University.

At Bloomsburg, Hale has posted a career record of 125-44-1 (.742) and holds the school record for most coaching victories. Overall in 20 years as a head coach he has a mark of 165-57-1 (.742) and is ranked among the top 10 active coaches in NCAA Division II in winning percentage. In his 15 seasons as head coach at Bloomsburg he has led the Huskies to 10 outright or shared Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division titles and five NCAA post-season playoff berths. In the period from 2000 to 2007 the Huskies are also one of the most successful NCAA Division II programs with a combined record of 72-20 (.782).

In 2006, the Huskies posted a mark of 12-2 and won the PSAC Eastern Division title, while also capturing the NCAA Northeast Regional title and advancing to the NCAA Division II national semi-finals. Hale was named the PSAC East Coach of the Year, the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II District I Coach of the Year and was a finalist for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year award. By virtue of being a finalist for the award he was featured on an ABC-TV special hosted by Keith Jackson.

In 2005, Hale led the Huskies to a record of 11-1, including an unbeaten (11-0) mark in the regular season. It was just the fourth time in school history that a Bloomsburg team went through the regular season without a loss. He also earned PSAC Eastern Division Coach of the Year honors and the AFCA District One Coach of the Year award.

The Huskies also reached the NCAA playoffs in 1996, 2000 and 2001 seasons. During the 2000 season the Huskies were 12-3 and advanced to the NCAA championship game, eventually losing in the title contest. The team reached the finals after rallying from a 19-point deficit against UC-Davis in the national semi-finals to post a 58-48 win. Hale earned the American Football Coaches Association Division II National Coach of the Year following the season.

Overall Hale has also been named the AFCA District I Coach of the Year honors nine times, the third highest total in the program’s history. Twice he has won the honor in consecutive seasons (2000 and 2001 and 2005 and 2006). He has been named the PSAC Eastern Division Coach of the Year 10 times, including four straight from 1994 to 1997 and now back-to-back in 2005 and 2006.

Among the great players Hale has coached include Irv Sigler, the winner of the 1997 Harlon Hill Award as the nation’s best Division II football player. Sigler finished the year as one of the few players ever in Division II history to average more than 200 yards per game rushing.

In addition, Hale also coached Jamar Brittingham, a 2005 top three finalist for the Harlon Hill. Brittingham finished 2005 as college football’s top rusher and scorer and was fourth in Division II in all-purpose yards. At the end of Brittingham’s career in 2007, he was the all-time leading rusher and scorer in the history of both Bloomsburg and the PSAC and set a total of 29 school and conference records.

Hale’s other standout performer has been Jahri Evans, a fourth round draft choice of the New Orleans Saints in 2006. Evans, an offensive lineman, has started each game for the Saints the past two seasons along with two post-season games. He was named to the NFL All-Rookie team in 2006.

At West Chester Hale posted a mark of 40-13 and won three PSAC East titles and advanced to the NCAA playoffs in 1988.

Prior to West Chester, Hale was an offensive line and defensive coordinator at Colgate from 1981 to 1983. Prior to Colgate, Hale was the offensive line coach at Bucknell from 1975-80 and was defensive coordinator/linebacker coach at Vermont in 1974.

Hale is a graduate of West Chester, earning his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Health and Physical Education in 1968 and 1973. He was an all-conference pick at West Chester and earned the team’s most valuable player in the 1967 State Championship game, while also lettering three times for the track and field team. He is a member of the West Chester Football Hall of Fame and the Delaware County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

In 1968 Hale signed with the Pottstown Firebirds, the semi professional farm club of the Philadelphia Eagles, before entering the Marine Corps where he played middle linebacker for the Quantico Marines. Following a three-year stint, he was honorably discharged as a first lieutenant in 1972.

Hale and his wife Diane are the parents of four children, Roman; Brandie; Tyson; and Christina and have nine grandchildren.

updated Aug. 2008

Danny Hale Year by Year