Lopez Named Assistant Head Football Coach

Mike Lopez will begin his fifth season as Fairmont State's defensive coordinator, and athletic director Scott Gines recently announced Lopez' promotion to assistant head football coach.

"Mike is an excellent teacher of the game; he connects very effectively with our student-athletes, and he has a clear understanding of the purpose and place of Division II athletics," stated Gines.

In addition to his defensive coordinator role, Lopez will assume additional leadership in the areas of budget management, purchasing, game day operations, community relations and scouting. Lopez will assist Falcon head coach Rusty Elliott.

"Coach Lopez has been the top defensive coordinator the last couple of years," said Elliott. "He has excellent organizational skills and an ability to lead not only our players, but other coaches on our staff. He does an excellent job in the areas of teaching our players, recruiting and organizing our summer camps. These attributes and his commitment to Fairmont State led to his promotion to assistant head coach."

Lopez is responsible for orchestrating the West Virginia Conference's top defense and the twentieth-ranked defense nationally in 2004. The defense ended the season ranked first in the WVIAC in average yards per rush, rushing defense, pass efficiency, average per catch, opponent passing touchdowns, total forced turnovers, interceptions, average yards per play and opponent first downs.

Last year, the Falcon defense allowed only three opponents to rush for more than 100 yards. The 99.6 yards-per-game average ranked seventeenth nationally. The unit forced 38 turnovers to lead the conference for the third time in four years. They also ranked second nationally in forced turnovers.

Under his guidance, the Falcon defense has had 13 first-team All-Conference players, nine WVIAC Defensive Players-of-the-Week and 37 players represented on All-Conference teams. Nine Falcon defenders have been selected All-Northeast Region, four have been selected All-American and thirteen have played in the East Coast Division II All-Star Game.

Lopez was a standout defensive end for the Falcons and was a team captain during the 1996-97 seasons. The 1996 Falcons won the West Virginia Conference championship. He served as a student assistant for Fairmont State and while working toward a second master's degree, he served as a graduate assistant on Rich Rodriquez's first football staff during the 2001 season. That year, he assisted Jeff Casteel in coaching the inside linebackers.

Coach Lopez and wife Jaclyn reside in Clarksburg.