CEDAR CITY, Utah (Dec. 14, 2021) - Southern Utah announced the hiring of DeLane Fitzgerald as its new head football coach on Tuesday, as a new era in Cedar City begins for the Thunderbirds.
For the full release from SUU on the hiring, click here.
Fitzgerald comes to SUU by way of Frostburg State University in Maryland, where he was the head football coach for the past eight seasons. Overall, he brings 22 years of college football coaching experience with him to Cedar City, including 13 years as a head coach.
"I would like to thank Athletic Director Debbie Corum, President Mindy Benson, Senior Associate Athletic Director Jeff Tukuafu and the rest of the hiring committee for the opportunity to be the next head football coach of the Southern Utah University Thunderbirds," said Fitzgerald. "I have wanted to be a part of SUU and the Cedar City community since my first trip to Southern Utah more than a decade ago. I could not be more excited to get started building a football program that we can all be proud of. We are going to build a sound, consistent football program that has an opportunity to be successful each week based on discipline, hard work, daily improvement, competitive greatness and a determination to finish everything we start."
An introductory press conference for Coach Fitzgerald will be held Thursday, Dec. 16, at 1:00 p.m. MT in the Ballroom at the Sharwan Smith Student Center on the campus of SUU. The press conference is open to the public.
Fitzgerald played football at Potomac State College before transferring and playing his final seasons as a fullback at James Madison University. After leading his team to an Atlantic 10 Conference championship in 1999, Fitzgerald began his coaching career at Bridgton Academy in Maine in 2000 before returning to James Madison as a defensive assistant in 2001.
SUU's new coach holds a master's degree in education from Bethel College, a bachelor's degree in kinesiology from James Madison and an associate degree in physical education from Potomac State College.
Joining Fitzgerald in Cedar City is his wife, Kim. The couple has three daughters named Mattie, Afton and Laila.
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