Rocky Hager
American football player and coach (born 1951)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ralph Earl "Rocky" Hager III[1] (born August 29, 1951) is an American former college football coach. He served as the head football coach at North Dakota State University from 1987 to 1996 and Northeastern University from 2004 until 2009, after which the school dropped their football program.[2] He was also the interim head football coach at The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) for the 2016 season. Hager won two NCAA Division II Football Championships at North Dakota State, in 1988 and 1990.
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 29, 1951 |
| Playing career | |
| 1969–1972 | Minot State |
| Position | Offensive lineman |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1979 | North Dakota State (assistant) |
| 1980 | Morningside (DL) |
| 1981–1984 | Augustana (SD) (DC) |
| 1985–1986 | North Dakota State (DC/LB) |
| 1987–1996 | North Dakota State |
| 1997–2003 | Temple (assistant) |
| 2004–2009 | Northeastern |
| 2012 | Bryant (DL) |
| 2013–2015 | TCNJ (DC) |
| 2016 | TCNJ (interim HC) |
| 2017–2021 | TCNJ (ST/LB) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 113–80–1 |
| Tournaments | 12–5 (NCAA D-II playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 2 NCAA Division II (1988, 1990) 5 NCC (1988, 1990–1992, 1994) | |
| Awards | |
| 2× Division II National Coach of the Year (1988, 1990) | |
Hager graduated from Harvey High School in Harvey, North Dakota in 1969. He married Peggy Kean Kress in 1973.[3]
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Dakota State Bison (North Central Conference) (1987–1996) | |||||||||
| 1987 | North Dakota State | 6–4 | 6–3 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1988 | North Dakota State | 14–0 | 9–0 | 1st | W NCAA Division II Championship | ||||
| 1989 | North Dakota State | 8–3–1 | 6–2–1 | T–2nd | L NCAA Division II Quarterfinal | ||||
| 1990 | North Dakota State | 14–0 | 9–0 | 1st | W NCAA Division II Championship | ||||
| 1991 | North Dakota State | 7–3 | 7–1 | 1st | L NCAA Division II First Round | ||||
| 1992 | North Dakota State | 10–2 | 8–1 | 1st | L NCAA Division II Quarterfinal | ||||
| 1993 | North Dakota State | 7–3 | 6–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1994 | North Dakota State | 9–3 | 7–2 | T–1st | L NCAA Division II Quarterfinal | ||||
| 1995 | North Dakota State | 10–3 | 7–2 | T–2nd | L NCAA Division II Quarterfinal | ||||
| 1996 | North Dakota State | 6–4 | 5–4 | 5th | |||||
| North Dakota State: | 91–25–1 | 70–18–1 | |||||||
| Northeastern Huskies (Atlantic 10 Conference) (2004–2006) | |||||||||
| 2004 | Northeastern | 5–6 | 4–4 | T–5th (North) | |||||
| 2005 | Northeastern | 2–9 | 2–6 | T–10th (North) | |||||
| 2006 | Northeastern | 5–6 | 4–4 | T–6th (North) | |||||
| Northeastern Huskies (Colonial Athletic Association) (2007–2009) | |||||||||
| 2007 | Northeastern | 3–8 | 2–6 | T–9th (North) | |||||
| 2008 | Northeastern | 2–10 | 1–7 | T–10th (North) | |||||
| 2009 | Northeastern | 3–8 | 3–5 | T–8th (North) | |||||
| Northeastern: | 20–47 | 16–32 | |||||||
| TCNJ Lions (New Jersey Athletic Conference) (2016) | |||||||||
| 2016 | TCNJ | 2–8 | 2–7 | 8th | |||||
| TCNJ: | 2–8 | 2–7 | |||||||
| Total: | 113–80–1 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
