Story by Sam Gobert, Carroll University
WAUKESHA, Wis. -- Director of Athletics Michael Schulist is proud to announce the hiring of Mike Budziszewski as the 30th head football coach in program history.
"After an extensive national search, I'm thrilled to welcome Coach Budziszewski as our next head football coach." said Schulist "Coach Budziszewski's past success in the CCIW and extensive recruiting knowledge in the Midwest made him an ideal candidate, and an excellent fit to not only the football program, but our entire university."
Budziszewski's previous position was at Millikin University as the assistant head coach/offensive coordinator. During his tenure at the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) school, their offense became one of the strongest in the conference, including a top five offense in the CCIW this past season. Millikin ranked fifth in scoring, fourth in total offense per game, fourth in rushing offense, and fifth in passing offense. In his three years, Budziszewski set over 19 school and CCIW records in pass completions, pass attempts, passing touchdowns, passing yards, and receiving touchdowns.
"First I want to thank President Gnadinger and Athletic Director Schulist for the opportunity to be the next head coach at Carroll University." said Budziszewski, "I also want to thank my wife, Kendra, for being supportive throughout this process. We are very excited to move back home to Wisconsin, and I'm honored to have the opportunity to lead this program. Go Pios!"
Budziszewski's experience extends into the NAIA at Presentation College in South Dakota as the assistant head coach/offensive coordinator. In 2016 Budziszewski was a finalist for the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Assistant Coach of the Year, in the same year Presentation had a 7-3 overall record. The school ranked in the top 25 in NAIA Division I in pass efficiency and scoring offense per game.
A native of Greenfield, Budziszewski earned his Bachelor of Science in Education at UW-Oshkosh where he played quarterback. He received his Master of Science in Educational Leadership from Winona State University.
"We are thrilled to welcome Coach Budziszewski and his wife Kendra to the Pioneer family." ended Schulist.
The College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW) was founded in 1946 and currently services nine member institutions including Augustana College (Rock Island, IL), Carroll University (Waukesha, WI), Carthage College (Kenosha, WI), Elmhurst College (Elmhurst, IL), Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, IL), Millikin University (Decatur, IL), North Central College (Naperville, IL), North Park University (Chicago, IL) and Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL). During the 2018-19 academic year, the CCIW honored over 2,200 academic all-conference recipients, 18 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, 43 CoSIDA Academic All-District recipients, and over 100 all-Americans.