Kyle "Bubba" Schweigert has resigned his position as Minnesota Duluth's football coach and will become defensive coordinator at Southern Illinois University.
Southern Illinois named North Dakota coach Dale Lennon its head coach last week after Salukis coach Jerry Kill resigned after seven seasons to take the Northern Illinois coaching job. Schweigert, a former North Dakota assistant coach, was a colleague of Lennon's for 13 years and was the Fighting Sioux's defensive coordinator under Lennon for five seasons (1999-2003) before taking the job at UMD.
"This was a tough decision -- real tough because of the personal relationships I developed with the players and the staff," Schweigert said. "I really appreciate the opportunity I had to serve the university as the coach here. I didn't have any head coaching experience when I was hired. UMD gave me that opportunity, and I'm grateful for it."
Lennon signed a five-year extension at North Dakota in 2005 worth $100,000 per season. His deal with the Salukis pays him $200,000 annually. Schweigert made a base salary of about $80,000 last season at UMD. He wouldn't say what his new contract with Southern Illinois will pay him, but said his decision wasn't about money.
"This was an opportunity to coach at a Division I school that is competing at a high level, and to coach for a guy I have a lot of respect for and consider a good friend," Schweigert said. "That is what this decision is all about. This was a professional move I felt was too good to pass up."
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Schweigert said one of his regrets was that he wasn't able to personally inform his players about his decision. UMD doesn't resume classes until Jan. 22.
UMD will open an immediate search to fill Schweigert's vacancy. With national signing day just a month away, the Bulldogs coaching staff is busy recruiting. Nielson met with the staff today concerning the latest development.
"We have a great group of assistant coaches, and they've been a big part of the success of our program over recent years," Nielson said. "They are the kinds of quality people we want in our program and want to continue to have in our program. Any time there is change in leadership, it creates questions, but at the same time, I tried to convey our confidence in them and our sincere desire for them to be part of our program in the future."
Schweigert, 45, had a 22-21 record in four seasons with the Bulldogs, including guiding UMD to a share of the North Central Conference title and its second NCAA Division II playoffs in 2005, just his second season with the Bulldogs after replacing Bob Nielson, who is now UMD's athletic director.
Last season the Bulldogs went 4-6. Schweigert led the Bulldogs in each of their four seasons in the NCC. Next year, UMD will move back into its former league, the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, as the NCC will disband when North Dakota and South Dakota make the move to NCAA Division I.
Schweigert is expected to begin his duties with the Salukis by next week. Southern Illinois is a Football Championship Subdivision institution, formerly NCAA Division I-AA. The Salukis went 12-2 last year and advanced to the FCS semifinals, their fifth straight playoff appearance, and also has launched an $80 million upgrade of its athletic facilities that includes a 12,000-seat stadium.
"Southern Illinois is a good, solid program, and our challenge is going to be to keep the program going," Schweigert said. "We're not being asked to reinvent the wheel, and that's exciting."
