E&H Selects Montgomery as New Head Football Coach
New coach leaves post as defensive coordinator at Mount Union

EMORY Va. – The defensive coordinator of one of the most successful Division III football programs in the nation has been selected as head football coach at Emory & Henry College.

Don Montgomery, an assistant football coach at Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio, will replace retiring E&H head football coach Lou Wacker.

Montgomery, who has served Mount Union’s athletic program for 27 years, was part of a coaching staff that since the early 1990s has established Mount Union as the most consistent and one of the strongest teams in Division III football. Each year since 1992, Mount Union has reached the semi-finals of the NCAA championship playoffs. In seven of those years, the team has gone on to win the national championship.

During those years, Montgomery has served as an offensive line coach, a defensive line coach, an inside linebacker coach and, for the past 19 years, the defensive coordinator. In addition, he has been the school’s head wrestling coach and strength and conditioning coach.

E&H President Thomas R. Morris said Montgomery has been a big part of the football success at Mount Union and will be a "good fit" for Emory & Henry. "It is fitting that the strong football tradition at Emory & Henry would draw upon the talents of someone who has helped build another strong program in our division. We are very excited that Don will be joining our community, and we believe that he will do a fine job in carrying on the great E&H football tradition."

Montgomery said he brings not only a strong coaching resume, but also solid recruiting talents. "Emory & Henry will be a good match for me. It reminds me a great deal of Mount Union, and I believe I will enjoy working here very much."

He looks forward to not only recruiting good athletes, but also working with those athletes to increase their excellence. "I enjoy working with individual athletes, especially with regard to their strength training. If you can make an athlete stronger, he’s going to be faster and more capable on the football field."

Montgomery is a 1977 graduate of Mount Union and holds a master’s degree in physical education from Indiana State University. As a college football athlete, he was named All Ohio Athletic Conference Offensive Guard in 1976. In that same year, he also was named team co-captain and Offensive Most Valuable Player. In 1975, he received the Jack Thorpe Memorial Football Award.

Montgomery replaces outgoing head coach Lou Wacker, one of Emory & Henry’s most successful football coaches. Wacker announced his retirement last month, ending a 23-year E&H coaching career that was marked by unprecedented accomplishments, including 11 Old Dominion Athletic Conference championships (an ODAC record); five trips to the NCAA playoffs and two undefeated regular seasons.