Rick Willis (born February 4, 1966) is an American college administrator and former football, baseball, and softball coach. He was the athletic director at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, from 2005 to 2021, before transitioning to vice president for student recruitment.[1] Willis served two stints as the head football coach at Wartburg, from 1997 to 2005 and again from 2008 to 2021, compiled a record of 185–46. He was succeeded in 2021 by his former player and defensive coordinator Chris Winter. He was the head baseball coach at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio from 1991 to 1996, amassing a record of 150–85. Willis also coached the softball team at Wartburg for one season, in 2003, tallying a mark of 38–10 and reaching the Division III Women's College World Series.
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Vice president for student recruitment |
| Team | Wartburg |
| Conference | ARC |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | February 4, 1966 Camanche, Iowa, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1984–1987 | Cornell (IA) |
| Baseball | |
| 1985–1988 | Cornell (IA) |
| Position(s) | Defensive back (football) Second baseman (baseball) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1988–1989 | Illinois (GA) |
| 1990–1996 | Wittenberg (DC) |
| 1997–2005 | Wartburg |
| 2008–2020 | Wartburg |
| Baseball | |
| 1991–1996 | Wittenberg |
| Softball | |
| 2003 | Wartburg |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 2005–2021 | Wartburg |
| 2021–present | Wartburg (VP) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 185–46 (football) 150–85 (baseball) 38–10 (softball) |
| Tournaments | Football 10–11 (NCAA D-III playoffs) Softball 6–3 (NCAA D-III tournament) Baseball 2–2 (NCAA D-III tournament) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 11 IIAC/ARC (1999, 2002–2004, 2008, 2010, 2013–2014, 2017–2019) Softball NCAA Regional Champion (2003) | |
| Awards | |
| Football 5× IIAC Coach of the Year (1999, 2010, 2013–2014, 2017) Baseball NCAC Coach of the Year (1996) | |
Willis was born in Camanche, Iowa. He attended Cornell College in Mount Vernon, Iowa, where he played football and baseball, earning all-conference honors in both sports.[2]
Head coaching record
editFootball
edit| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | D3# | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wartburg Knights (Iowa Conference) (1997–2005) | |||||||||
| 1997 | Wartburg | 7–3 | 5–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1998 | Wartburg | 9–1 | 9–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1999 | Wartburg | 10–1 | 10–0 | 1st | L NCAA Division III Second Round | ||||
| 2000 | Wartburg | 9–1 | 9–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 2001 | Wartburg | 8–2 | 7–2 | 2nd | |||||
| 2002 | Wartburg | 10–2 | 8–1 | T–1st | L NCAA Division III Second Round | ||||
| 2003 | Wartburg | 11–1 | 8–0 | 1st | L NCAA Division III Second Round | 4 | |||
| 2004 | Wartburg | 8–3 | 6–2 | T–1st | L NCAA Division III First Round | ||||
| 2005 | Wartburg | 7–3 | 6–2 | 3rd | |||||
| Wartburg Knights (Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference / American Rivers Conference) (2008–2020) | |||||||||
| 2008 | Wartburg | 10–3 | 7–1 | 1st | L NCAA Division III Quarterfinal | 10 | |||
| 2009 | Wartburg | 6–4 | 5–3 | 3rd | |||||
| 2010 | Wartburg | 10–1 | 8–0 | 1st | L NCAA Division III First Round | 12 | |||
| 2011 | Wartburg | 8–2 | 6–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 2012 | Wartburg | 6–4 | 4–3 | T–2nd | |||||
| 2013 | Wartburg | 9–3 | 6–1 | 1st | L NCAA Division III Second Round | 15 | |||
| 2014 | Wartburg | 12–1 | 7–0 | 1st | L NCAA Division III Quarterfinal | 4 | |||
| 2015 | Wartburg | 9–1 | 6–1 | 2nd | 24 | ||||
| 2016 | Wartburg | 6–4 | 5–3 | 4th | |||||
| 2017 | Wartburg | 12–1 | 8–0 | 1st | L NCAA Division III Quarterfinal | 10 | |||
| 2018 | Wartburg | 8–3 | 7–1 | 1st | L NCAA Division III First Round | ||||
| 2019 | Wartburg | 10–2 | 7–1 | T–1st | L NCAA Division III Second Round | 14 | |||
| 2020–21 | No team—COVID-19 | ||||||||
| Wartburg: | 185–46 | 144–28 | |||||||
| Total: | 185–46 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
Baseball
edit| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wittenberg Tigers (North Coast Athletic Conference) (1991–1996) | |||||||||
| 1991 | Wittenberg | 25–16 | 16–7 | 4th | |||||
| 1992 | Wittenberg | 25–16 | 14–6 | 2nd | |||||
| 1993 | Wittenberg | 16–18 | 7–9 | T–5th | |||||
| 1994 | Wittenberg | 29–12 | 11–5 | 4th | NCAA Regional | ||||
| 1995 | Wittenberg | 27–13 | 14–9 | 4th | |||||
| 1996 | Wittenberg | 26–10 | 16–3 | 2nd | |||||
| Wittenberg: | 150–85 | 78–39 | |||||||
| Total: | 150–85 | ||||||||
Softball
edit| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wartburg Knights (Iowa Conference) (2003) | |||||||||
| 2003 | Wartburg | 38–10 | 14–3 | 2nd | NCAA Division III College World Series | ||||
| Wartburg: | 38–10 | 14–3 | |||||||
| Total: | 38–10 | ||||||||
References
edit- ^ Nelson, Jim (July 1, 2021). "Wartburg College's Rick Willis stepping into new role at school". The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. Cedar Falls, Iowa. Retrieved December 3, 2023.
- ^ "Wartburg hires football coach". Iowa City Press-Citizen. Iowa City, Iowa. January 29, 1997. p. 1B. Retrieved January 8, 2020 – via Newspapers.com
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