PEMBROKE — The University of North Carolina at Pembroke football head coach Shane Richardson put the finishing touches on his coaching staff on Monday when he announced that former Finlandia skipper Tim Driscoll has been hired on as the defensive coordinator for the Braves.
Driscoll, who will also serve as the defensive backs coach for the Braves, brings more than 25 years of collegiate coaching experience to Pembroke, including the last three as skipper for the upstart Finlandia program. His coaching career also includes stops at four other NCAA Division II institutions as well.
“Tim brings valuable experience to our program,” Richardson said. “He’s had long-standing success as a Division II defensive coordinator, and he’s also been a head coach and can bring a unique and mature perspective to our coaching staff. Tim was one of my original mentors and taught me a lot when I first started coaching, and his dad was my defensive coordinator when I played. He has an excellent defensive mind and we have a great working relationship. He also shares our program’s vision and values which allows him to be a tremendous fit for our program. I am confident that Tim will be a great contributor to the development and success of our program.”
A stickler on the defensive side of the ball, Driscoll has logged 14 seasons as a defensive coordinator at the collegiate level, including 10 years (2004-13) as the top defensive coach at Michigan Tech. While also serving as assistant head coach in Houghton, Mich., Driscoll crafted one of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference’s (GLIAC) most feared defensive units. A regular among the nation’s top defensive teams as well, the Huskies ranked first or second in total defense among the GLIAC’s 15 squads in three of his last four seasons at MTU, while also leading the league in scoring defense on two occasions as well.
Michigan Tech compiled a 64-35 (.646) clip with Driscoll at the reins of its defensive unit, and made one appearance (2004) in the NCAA Division II Playoffs. Along the way, Driscoll helped the Huskies stake claim to a conference title (2004), as well as the league’s North Division crown in 2012. MTU also boasted a pair of league defensive lineman of the year and two GLIAC defensive back of the year during that time as well.
Driscoll made his debut in the coaching world on the coaching staff at North Dakota State from 1990 to 1996, first as a student assistant for the Bison and head coach Rocky Hager, and then as a graduate assistant coach with the strong safeties and outside linebackers. The success of NDSU during that span is well-documented as the Bison collected a trio of North Central Conference titles, while making four appearances in the NCAA Division II playoffs.
The enthusiastic mentor served as defensive coordinator for Box Elder High School in Brigham City, Utah, in 1997 and 1998, and helped the Bees secure a pair of trips to the state playoffs, but returned to the collegiate level in 1999 as an assistant coach and helped North Dakota State College of Science (NJCAA) to a perfect 10-0 record, a Pepsi Cola Bowl championship and a runner-up finish in the national rankings. He would then serve as defensive coordinator at Fort Lewis, Northern Michigan, Jamestown College and Minnesota-Crookston over the next four seasons.
“It is an honor and privilege to be a part of the football program at UNC Pembroke,” Driscoll said. ” I am very impressed with the coaching staff that Coach Richardson has put together. That, along with the outstanding facilities and quality players to work with, has me very excited to get things going this season.”
Driscoll earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from North Dakota State in 1995, and earned his master’s degree in athletic administration from NDSU in 1997. He and his wife, Vicky, are the parents of three daughters – Sierrah, Sloane and Reese.
