A two-time BCS National Champion with nine years of head coaching experience at two universities, Steve Addazio has been named the 23rd head football coach at Colorado State University, Director of Athletics Joe Parker announced on Wednesday.
A press conference to formally introduce Addazio is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 12, inside the Hall of Champions at Canvas Stadium. Fans are invited and encouraged to attend. Free parking will be available along Hughes Way and in the Moby Arena parking lots, while paid parking is available at the Morgan Library lot and Lake Street parking garage.
“I would like to thank President Joyce McConnell and Director of Athletics Joe Parker for the opportunity to lead this football program,” Addazio said. “Colorado State University is a world-class institution, and Fort Collins is an incredible city to live in and to be able to recruit to. Our program will be one built on toughness and passion, and we will work tirelessly to develop men of character to return championship-level football back to Colorado State.”
Addazio has tallied 57 wins over his nine-year coaching career which included stints at Temple (2011-12) and Boston College (2013-19) where he became the first coach in BC history to lead the program to six bowls in the first seven seasons as a head coach, and the first bowl winning head coach at Temple in over 30 years in his first season as head coach.
“I am excited to welcome Steve Addazio as our new head football coach and his wife, Kathy, to Fort Collins and Colorado State University,” Parker said. “Throughout his career, Coach Addazio has been committed to the holistic development of student-athletes and of the programs he has led. He has focused on crafting cultures where his students thrive on the field and in the classroom. We look forward to Coach Addazio leading our football team as we strive to be the preeminent program in the Mountain West.”
His 2019 Eagles led the Atlantic Coast Conference in rushing offense and ranked No. 6 nationally at 267.8 yards per game while also protecting the quarterback at an ACC-best clip of 0.92 sacks allowed per game – third-best nationally. Not content to simply churn up clock, Addazio’s up-tempo Eagles ranked No. 6 nationally in plays per game (76.4) and ranked No. 2 within the ACC in that category behind national leader Wake Forest.
Known as hard-nosed teams with powerful rushing attacks, the Eagles had a 1,000-yard rusher in five of seven years under Addazio, highlighted by Heisman Trophy finalist and Doak Walker Award Winner Andre Williams’ 2,177 yards in 2013. Defensively, Boston College allowed 26 points or less the last six years of his tenure, ranking fourth nationally in scoring defense in 2015 by allowing just 15.3 points per game. The Eagles spent four weeks in the 2018 AP Top 25 (hitting a peak of No. 17) and appeared in the College Football Playoff rankings for the first time in 2018, the first time the program had been ranked since 2007.
Addazio’s first opportunity as a head coach came at Temple where he spent two season, leading the Owls to a 9-4 mark in his inaugural season of 2011. That season, the Owls won their first bowl game in 32 years, capturing the New Mexico Bowl with a 37-15 victory over Wyoming. Addazio’s nine wins are still the most-ever by a first-year head coach in the program’s history. Addazio’s offense set school records for rushing yards and rushing touchdowns. During his time at Temple, Addazio also helped direct the Owls’ through the program’s transition from the Mid-American Conference to the BIG EAST.
An offensive line coach by trade, Addazio is considered one of the top teachers nationally at the position and one of the nation’s top recruiters. In 2010, Addazio was honored by ESPN.com as the nation’s No. 1 recruiter as he helped put together a pair of recruiting classes in 2009 and 2010 that ranked in the top 5 nationally including the nation’s best class in 2010. He spent three years as an offensive coordinator, two at Florida under coach Urban Meyer when the Gators won two BCS national championships. He served as Indiana’s offensive coordinator in 2004.
He began his coaching career at Western Connecticut State as the offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator from 1985-87. He then stepped back to coach Cheshire High School from 1988-1994, with that team winning three state championships, 49 consecutive games and sending 20 players to college programs.
He returned to college coaching in 1995, the first of four seasons at Syracuse working with tight ends and the offensive line. In 1999, he spent the first of two seasons at Notre Dame, coaching tackles, tight ends and special teams.
That was followed by three years at Indiana (2002-04), the first two as the offensive line coach. He was with Florida from 2005-10 as the Gators won a pair of national championships, first coaching tackles and tight ends before being promoted to assistant head coach in 2007, still working with the offensive line. In 2009-10, he added the duties as the Gators’ offensive coordinator. In 2010, Florida ranked 10th nationally in scoring offense, sixth in total offense.
Addazio has agreed to a five-year contract, with a base salary of $1.5 million in the first year with a $50,000 increase each year of the contract. There will be a guaranteed portion of the contract by CSU with Addazio owing a buyout if he voluntarily leaves during the term of the contract. Addazio and the University are finalizing the remaining details of the contract and will make it available once it is completed and signed.
Addazio and his wife, Kathleen, have three children: Nicole, Jessica and Louie.