Ken Niumatalolo

College coach infobox

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ImageWidth = 200
Caption = At a White House Rose Garden ceremony, April 2008
Name = Ken Niumatalolo
Title = Head coach
College = U.S. Naval Academy
Sport = Football
Conference = FBS Independent
CurrentRecord = 4-2
DateOfBirth = birth date and age|1965|5|8
Birthplace = Lā'ie, HI
OverallRecord = 4-3
Contract =
BowlRecord = 0-1
TournamentRecord =
CFbDWID = 4979
Championships =
Awards =
CoachingRecords =
Player = Y
Years = 1983-89
Team = Hawaiokinai
Position =
Coach = Y
CoachYears = 1990–1992
1992–1994
1995–1996
1997–1998
1999–2001 2002–2007
2007-"present"
CoachTeams = Hawaiokinai (GA)
Hawaiokinai (AC)
Navy (AC)
Navy (OC)
UNLV (AC)
Navy (OL)
Navy (HC)
FootballHOF =
CollegeHOFID =
BBallHOF =

Ken Niumatalolo (born May 8, 1965) is the 38th head football coach of the Navy Midshipmen. He is believed to be the first person of Polynesian descent to be named head coach of a NCAA Division I FBS college football program and the first Samoan collegiate head coach on any level.cite web|url=http://navysports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/niumatalolo_ken00.html |title=Profile: Ken Niumatalolo |publisher=United States Naval Academy Varsity Athletics |accessdate=2007-12-13] He is also a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, also known as Mormons.

Niumatalolo played college football at Hawaiokinai; as a quarterback he led the then-Rainbows to their first postseason bowl game in 1989.cite news|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/football/ncaa/12/08/bc.fbc.navy.niumatalolo.ap/index.html |title=Niumatalolo follows Johnson at Navy |author=Associated Press |publisher="SportsIllustrated.com" |date=2007-12-08 |accessdate=2007-12-13]

Before coaching

Niumatalolo was a star in both football and basketball at Radford High School in Honolulu, graduating in 1983. He went on to play the University of Hawaiokinai at Mānoa, eventually becoming the Rainbows (now the Warriors) starting quarterback after serving a two-year religious mission. During his time with the Rainbows, he ran an option-oriented offense under the direction of Paul Johnson, who was then the offensive coordinator.cite news|url=http://starbulletin.com/2005/12/16/sports/story02.html |title=Local coach keeps Navy moving into bowl game |first=Mark |last=Brown |publisher="Honolulu Star-Bulletin" |date=2005-12-16 |accessdate=2007-12-13]

Coaching

Hawaiokinai

Niumatalolo stayed on at Hawaiokinai after his graduation, taking a position as a graduate assistant under Johnson. By 1992, he had been elevated to a full-time assistant position.

Navy

When Johnson left Hawaiokinai to become the offensive coordinator at Navy in 1995, he took Niumatalolo with him as his running backs coach. The following season, he was elevated to offensive coordinator after Johnson left to take the head coaching job at Georgia Southern. Notably, while offensive coordinator at Navy, he tutored quarterback Chris McCoy, who set a Division I-A record in 1997 for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with 20,cite web|url=http://navysports.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/navy/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/4-Coaches-fb-07 |title=Coaching Staff: Ken Niumatalolo |work=2007 Navy Football Media Guide |publisher=United States Naval Academy Varsity Athletics |format=PDF |pages=p. 48 |accessdate=2007-12-13] a record that would be broken in 2007 by Florida's Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow.

UNLV

In 1999, Niumatalolo left Annapolis to become an assistant at UNLV. While there, he called the plays and also worked with the kickoff return unit.

Back in Annapolis

He returned to Navy in 2002 when he was hired by Johnson, who had just taken over the head coaching job at Annapolis, as his offensive line coach. Niumatalolo's work helped Navy establish a rushing attack that led NCAA Division I-A/FBS in yards per game in four of his first five seasons since he returned to Annapolis, including an unprecedented three consecutive seasons leading the nation in that category (2004 through 2006). In 2007, Navy is averaging a school-record 351.5 yards per game on the ground going into the 2007 Poinsettia Bowl, which will be Niumatalolo's first game as head coach.cite news|url=http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=ncf&id=3146681 |title=Navy promotes assistant Niumatalolo to replace Johnson as coach |author=Associated Press |publisher="ESPN.com" |date=2007-12-08 |accessdate=2007-12-13] This rushing game has helped Navy football reach a level of success it had not seen in decades:
* Navy has gone 45-29 under Johnson, including 43-19 since 2003.
* The Midshipmen began a streak of bowl game appearances in 2003 that continues today.cite web|url=http://navysports.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/navy/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/10-Bowl-History-fb-07 |title=Bowl History |work=2007 Navy Football Media Guide |publisher=United States Naval Academy Varsity Athletics |format=PDF |pages=pp. 188–191 |accessdate=2007-12-13]
* In 2004, the Midshipmen had their first 10-win season in nearly a century.cite web|url=http://navysports.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/navy/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/9-History-fb-07 |title=History of Navy Football: All-Time Scores |work=2007 Navy Football Media Guide |publisher=United States Naval Academy Varsity Athletics |format=PDF |pages=pp. 154–165 |accessdate=2007-12-13]
* They have won the Commander in Chief's Trophy, the annual football trophy contested by Navy, Army, and Air Force, in each season since 2003. The 2006 first-class midshipmen (seniors, Class of 2007) went 8–0 against the other academies during their careers at Navy.cite web|url=http://navysports.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/navy/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/9-History-fb-07 |title=History of Navy Football: All-Time Scores |work=2007 Navy Football Media Guide |publisher=United States Naval Academy Varsity Athletics |format=PDF |pages=p. 165 |accessdate=2007-12-13] The Class of 2008 repeated this achievement during the 2007 season with the 6th straight victory over Army and the 5th straight victory over Air Force.
* Perhaps most important to Annapolis graduates, the Midshipmen have won six straight Army-Navy Games for the first time ever. This is also the longest winning streak for either side in the rivalry.
* Highlights in 2007 included the end of a 43-year losing streak to Notre Dame and their victory in the highest-scoring regulation game in major college history.

On December 8, Niumatalolo was promoted to head coach by Naval Academy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk after Paul Johnson departed for Georgia Tech.

References

External links

* [http://navysports.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/niumatalolo_ken00.html Naval Academy biography page]
* [http://starbulletin.com/2005/12/16/sports/story02.html Honolulu Star-Bulletin article, 2005]
* [http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/college/football/bal-sp.navyfoot30nov30,0,4640795.story Baltimore Sun article, 2007]