Lee Owens - Head Football Coach

            Several years ago, Ashland University discontinued the practice of having postgame fireworks after the home opener.

            No one really lamented that fact because for three hours each and every Saturday during football season, the Eagles stage one of the best fireworks show in Division II.  That show comes courtesy of AU head football coach Lee Owens, one of the most creative offensive football minds on any level of college football.

            Owens, who will begin his sixth season at AU in 2009, has built a program that is in no danger of a flameout.  In 2008, the Eagles went to the NCAA Division II playoffs for the second consecutive season and for the fourth time in school history. That marked the first time the Eagles visited the postseason in consecutive seasons.  Owens is the only coach in school history to take a team to the playoffs more than once.

            Last year’s team opened the playoffs with a 27-16 victory over Minnesota State, which was ranked 25^th in the country. That game was played in Ashland, marking the first time a postseason game was played in the city.

            How did the Eagles accomplish all of that?  They did it, thanks in large part, to an offense that lights up defenses like a July fourth celebration illuminates the sky.  When it comes to offensive pyrotechnics, very few teams in the country can match the Eagles.

            Last year’s team was 13^th in the nation in pass offense (295.9 ypg.), 20^th in total offense (441.69 ypg.) and 21^st in scoring offense (34.77 ppg.).  Ashland was second in the country in pass efficiency (167.77 rating).  Quarterback Billy Cundiff was a first team AFCA All-America and the 2008 GLIAC player of the year.  He is in the process of rewriting the AU record book. Ashland has two receivers surpass 1,000 yards and one of those wideouts, Nick Bellanco, tied the school single-season record for receptions.  For the second consecutive year, Ashland had a player recognized as a first team All-America.  Bellanco also received a GLIAC Commissoner’s Award, which recognizes outstanding academic and athletic accomplishment.

            In 2007, AU led the nation in fewest turnovers (nine).  The Eagles were fourth in the nation in total offense (528.2 ypg.) and pass efficiency (166.09), sixth in scoring (44.0 ppg.), 11^th in passing offense (290.9 ypg.) and 16^th in rush offense (237.3 ypg.).  The Eagles were 8-1 in the regular season and were invited to the playoffs for the first time since 1997.  AU lost in the first round of the postseason, 40-24 at Central Washington.  Center Vince Cashdollar was recognized as a first team All-America and played in the Cactus Bowl.

            Last year’s team ended the year, 9-4. In GLIAC action, Ashland finished in second place with an 8-2 mark.  Expectations are high for AU in 2009.  Ashland has been a staple in this summer’s preseason rankings.  The season opener at Bloomsburg is viewed as one of the top Division II matchups of the season. Both teams are nationally ranked and both went to the playoffs in 2008.

            Those kind of challenges have become a signature of the Owens tenure at Ashland.  The head coach has established the Eagles as one of the most progressive – and aggressive – programs in the country. Recruiting has never been better at Ashland. This year, the Eagles move into a new on-campus, state-of-the-art stadium.  That facility will include offices for the football staff, a weight room, a meeting room and just about everything else to help make a football program successful on the national level.  Since he arrived on campus, Owens has also established the AU Gridiron Club, a group that supports the football program

            Owens is the 14^th head coach in school history. He came to Ashland in December, 2003.  It did not take him long to reverse the Eagles’ fortunes.  In 2005, AU was a fixture in the regional rankings and barely missed advancing to the NCAA Division II playoffs for the third time in school history.  In the two years prior to his arrival AU was 2-9 both seasons. That about-face earned Owens the 2005 GLIAC coach of the year award.

The 2005 season was when the Eagles really began to take off under Owens.  That season, AU was second in the nation in scoring defense and seventh in total defense.  The Eagles featured tailback Jason Schwalm, who set school single-season and single-game rushing records.  Safety Devin Conwell was the GLIAC defensive back of the year and honored as an All-America.  Schwalm and offensive lineman Blake Dickson were also cited as All-Americas. Five Ashland players were honored as first team all-conference selections.

AU’s two losses came by a total of seven points and both came to nationally-ranked teams.  The Eagles ended the season with a six-game winning streak.

In 2006, AU (4-6) lost to three nationally-ranked teams.  That trio included national champion Grand Valley State – the Lakers won a back-and-forth battle from AU, 30-24. Even though the Eagles finished below .500, a number of underclassmen played prominent roles and gained valuable experience.  Everything came together in 2007 when the Eagles were ranked 22^nd nationally and become one of the country’s most exciting – and improved - teams.  

            As a head coach on the high school and college levels, Owens has a 164-113-2 record.  He came to Ashland from the University of Akron, where he coached from 1995-2003.  Owens’ record as a college head coach is 75-81-0.

            At every stop of his career, Owens’ calling card has been creative and productive offensive football.  He’s a true architect when it comes to offensive football.

            Owens didn’t have to be educated about Ashland University and its football program.  The AU head coach is originally from nearby Mansfield, OH, and he’s a graduate of Madison High School.  Owens earned his Master of Education degree from Ashland in 1981.

            The Owens Era at Akron was one of the most thrilling tenures in school history.  Under Owens, the Zips became a team that could reach the end zone from anywhere on the field.  Owens led Akron to a 34-20 win over Marshall in 2002, Akron’s first victory ever over a Top-25 team.  He was on the sidelines for one of the biggest wins in school history, a 35-29 conquest of Navy in 1999.  Akron trailed in that game, 23-0.  That’s the largest come-from-behind win in school history and the greatest lead lost in 121 years of Navy football.

Owens guided Akron to its first consecutive winning seasons since the school became a Division I-A member (1999-2000).  In 2000, Akron won a share of the Mid-American Conference Eastern Division title.  He also coached the school’s first consensus All-America, Dwight Smith, who played on the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

His last several seasons at Akron saw the Zips offense flourish to the point where in 2003 the Zips were sixth in the country in pass offense (311.3 ypg.), ninth in total offense (470.25 ypg.) and 11^th in scoring (36.25 ppg.).  In 2002, Akron was 28^th in the nation in yards per game.  Quarterback Charlie Frye rewrote the school record book for completions, attempts, passing yards, total offense and completion percentage.  Frye was regarded as one of the top signal callers in the country and was picked by the Cleveland Browns in the 2005 NFL draft.

Owens’ success at Akron extended to more than just records on the field.   In 2000 and 2001 the Zips led the MAC Academic Team and in 2001, the American Football Coaches of America (AFCA) presented Akron with an academic achievement award for a graduation rate over 70 percent.  In 1995 when Owens arrived on campus, the football program’s graduation rate was 17 percent.  Upon Owens’ departure, Akron averaged 58 percent on the NCAA graduation report.  Six members of the 2003 senior class had a grade point average that exceeded 3.0.

A quick look at the Owens resume reveals that he’s a leader among his peers.  Owens has been active on the NCAA YES football staff and has served on the public relations committee for the AFCA.  Today, he is a trustee with the AFCA.  He was the honorary chairman for Kids News Day at Akron Children’s Hospital, a community-wide fundraising project.  Owens is heavily involved in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA).  He served on the inaugural board for the First Tee Chapter of Akron – a program designed to expose disadvantaged youth to the game of golf and to prepare them for growth and leadership opportunities.

Last spring, Owens was the featured speaker at AU’s spring convocation.

Owens came to Akron after a stint as an assistant coach at Ohio State (1992-95).  While at Ohio State, Owens helped the Buckeyes to a 27-8-2 record and a Big Ten co-championship in 1993.  Ohio State made appearances in the Citrus Bowl (1993, 1995) and Holiday Bowl (1994) during his stay in Columbus.  Owens coached the late three-time All-America Korey Stringer and Orlando Pace, a two-time Lombardi Trophy winner who has gone on to become an All-Pro offensive lineman with the St. Louis Rams.

Owens’ OSU stint followed an ultra-successful career as a high school football coach in Ohio.  His career record on the prep level is 89-32-2 in 11 seasons.  He was the athletic director and head football coach at Massillon Washington High School (1988-92) where he led the Tigers to a 35-13 mark in four seasons.  His Massillon teams made three consecutive appearances in the state playoffs and his 1989 and 1991 units advanced to the state semifinals.  Massillon won three of four games from arch-rival McKinley.  In 1991, Massillon posted a 42-14 win over McKinley and that was the Tigers’ biggest win in the series in 31 years.

While at Massillon, Owens played a major role in upgrading the school’s athletic facilities.  He initiated a community-wide drive to privately fund more than $800,000 of improvements to the athletic complex at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

Prior to his time at Massillon, Owens spent one season at Lancaster High School (1987) where he led the Golden Gales to a 7-3 record and a spot in the state’s Top 10.

From 1983-87 Owens was the head coach at Division II Galion.  His record there was 33-11-1.  His 1985 Galion team won the OHSAA state championship, going 14-0.  In the state championship game, Galion downed Youngstown Cardinal Mooney, 6-0.  Owens was named the Associated Press Coach of the Year and was presented with the key to the city of Galion.

Before arriving at Galion, Owens was an assistant coach and the head football coach, social studies teacher and assistant principal at Crestview High School (1978-83) in Ashland.  Owens spent two years as the defensive coordinator under Bill Seder, an AU graduate and a member of the school’s Hall of Fame.  He became the head coach at age 24 in 1981.  He guided the Cougars to a 10-0 record and a final ranking of third in the state that season.

The AU head coach got his start in coaching at Waynesfield-Goshen High School in Waynesfield, OH, in 1977.

Owens earned his bachelor of arts degree from Bluffton College in 1977. 

Owens and his wife, Dianne, are the parents of four children – Ben 28, Andy, 25, Leanne, 23 and Molly, 19.  They have one grandson, Benjamin Lee, who was born May 13, 2006.

The AU head coach was born on July 17, 1956.

Owens at Ashland

Season                        Record

2004                            5-6

2005                            9-2

2006                            4-6

2007                            8-2

2008                            9-4

Total                           35-20