Finlandia hires its first football coach

Courtesy of Finlandia Athletics

Hancock, MI – Finlandia University has hired Tim Driscoll as the university’s first head football coach. Driscoll will begin his duties immediately, preparing the program to begin its inaugural season in the fall of 2015.

Driscoll has been coaching collegiate football since 1990, including 11 seasons of coaching in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Most recently Driscoll served as the defensive coordinator / assistant head coach for Michigan Tech.

While at Michigan Tech, Driscoll helped lead one of the best defensive teams in the Midwest. During his 10-year tenure with the Huskies, the team allowed the least amount of total yards and total points in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Driscoll was also a key part of two GLIAC championships for the Huskies, which were earned in 2004 and 2012.

In addition, Driscoll coached at the University of Minnesota-Crookston, Jamestown College, Northern Michigan University, Fort Lewis College, North Dakota State College of Science and North Dakota State University. Other career highlights include being part of NCAA playoff-qualifying teams in 1991, 1992, 1994, 1995, 2004 and 2010, and being a part of the 1999 Pepsi Cola Bowl Championship team at North Dakota State College of Science, a team that finished second in the nation with a 10-0 record.

The Finlandia University football program will play at the newly remodeled McAfee Field in Hancock. The program is the first of seven new athletic programs the school is adding in the next seven years. Currently Finlandia University is working to seek affiliation with a Midwest NCAA Division III athletic conference, something that would provide a boost to the university’s student-athletes, both academically and athletically.