By Brad Welborn, Louisiana College sports information
PINEVILLE, LA – Louisiana College announced today athletics director and football coach Dennis Dunn has accepted the head coaching position at Pineville High School effective immediately.
“I am grateful for my years at LC,” Dunn said. “The coaches and the hundreds of players that have come through our program have impacted me eternally. One of our sayings through the years has been, ‘leave it better than you found it.’ I believe we have done that.”
Dunn was introduced as the new athletics director and head football coach at Pineville High School in a 10 a.m. press conference.
Louisiana College President Rick Brewer said, “We all owe Coach Dunn a debt of gratitude for putting our football program on the map. He has demanded excellence from his student-athletes athletically and academically. But most important, he has expressed his deepest interest students’ spiritual development. We commend Dennis for his years of service to LC, and know that he will continue with the same personal standards in his new role at Pineville High School.”
In 11 seasons as the Wildcats head man, Dunn compiled a 65-45 record, four American Southwest Conference runner-up finishes, and a NCAA Tournament appearance in the 2012 season. He led the Wildcats to seven consecutive winning seasons from 2008 to 2014.
In 2011, the Wildcats posted their fourth consecutive 7-3 record, which, at the time, equaled the best mark the program had produced since its rebirth in 2000. That year they earned a third-place finish in the highly competitive ASC. The 2011 Wildcats also made history by receiving a top-25 national ranking for the first time in school history, climbing as high as number 19 in the nation.
The 2012 season was the finest in the program history. LC posted their first eight-win season in school history and made their first ever appearance in the NCAA Division III National Playoffs.
Dunn was named the 2012 ASC Coach of the Year and the Wildcats placed 20 players on the ASC All-Conference Team that season. Five players landed on the D3football.com All-South Region Team, and senior receiver D’Mario Parker was named an All-American.
Through the years, Dunn’s teams have produced 24 All-South Region selections, third most of any ASC team, and eight All-Americans. He has had two quarterback’s pass for over 10,000 yards, three running backs rush for over 2,000 yards, and five receivers go over 2,000 receiving yards in their careers.
Dunn will return to the high school ranks for the first time since 2005, after turning Shreveport’s Evangel Christian Academy into a state powerhouse.
He spent 14 seasons at ECA, winning 14 district championships, nine state titles in three different classifications, and the 1999 USA Today National Championship. Prior to his stint at Evangel, Dunn led the Woodlawn Knights to three district titles and five state playoff appearances.
“Just as there are seasons in football, there are seasons in life,” Dunn said. “My season at Louisiana College has come to an end and a new one at Pineville High is beginning. I’m proud of the All-Americans I’ve coached and the guys who went on the play in the NFL, but I’m even more proud of the men who have left here to become champions in life. I look forward to continuing to build champions on and off the field.”
Karl Carpenter, Pineville High School principal, was excited about the hiring of Dunn.
“Our new football coach is someone who is a proven winner both on and off the football field,” Carpenter said. “He is someone who represents what we stand for at Pineville High School.
“There was a tremendous amount of interest in this position (there were 28 applicants), and we believe we found the absolute best candidate for the job,” said Carpenter. “I am extremely excited about the direction the program is headed and I believe the best is yet to come for the Pineville football program.”
According to LC president Rick Brewer, the school expects to name Dunn’s replacement by the end of semester exams in early May.
This article includes additional reporting by the Town Talk newspaper in Alexandria.
