The search is over.
On Tuesday, KSU held a press conference to formally introduce Brian Bohannon, who will take the helm as the first head coach of the football program, slated to begin in 2015. The press conference was held in the locker room at Fifth Third Bank Stadium, the site where the future KSU football players will take the field.
“Let me just first say how humbled and honored I am to be here today,” Bohannon said. “This is something you look forward to in our profession and I’m honored to be a part of an institution that is as special as this one is. I’m truly excited and it’s surreal for me to hear ‘first head football coach at Kennesaw State.’”
In attendance were members of the media, fellow members of KSU Athletics, President Daniel S. Papp, Athletic Director Vaughn Williams and the legendary Vince Dooley, who helped serve on the football exploratory committee that assisted in bringing football to KSU. Dooley served as the Athletic Director at the University of Georgia while Bohannon attended UGA, where he played wide receiver.
“Kennesaw State and Mr. Vaughn Williams hired the right man to lead and to build their football program,” Dooley told KSU Athletics. “He [Bohannon] is a masterful teacher, a relentless recruiter and is a person of unquestionable character and integrity. There is no doubt in my mind that Brian will be a very successful head coach.”
Bohannon, who spent 17 years as an assistant coach at Gardner-Webb University, Georgia Southern University, The United States Naval Academy and Georgia Tech, expressed his gratitude and thanks to KSU, Dr. Papp and Williams for giving him an opportunity to become a head coach.
Bohannon also thanked his family, many of whom were in attendance at the press conference, for all their love and support throughout his career. He also thanked Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson, who he served under as an assistant coach for 16 years.
“He’s been unbelievably good to me,” Bohannon said. “I owe a lot to coach Johnson. My career and my path to today really reflect him. He’s impacted my life in a lot of ways.”
Bohannon has been a resident of Woodstock, GA for five years and expressed his joy in being part of the great community surrounding KSU. He also had the opportunity to attend a KSU vs. Mercer basketball game where he witnessed the unveiling of the refurbished school logo and the brand new fight song, and realized that KSU was something he wanted to be a part of. “It was the most unbelievable atmosphere I had seen in a long time,” Bohannon said. “This is a special place. This is the place you want to be because something special is going on here. Football is going to open that up for everyone to see.”
As a head coach, Bohannon hopes he can help his players succeed in their everyday lives, as well as on the football field.
“We want to win the day,” he said. “We win the day in the classroom. We win the day on the field. We win the day in our personal lives. We want to win, but it’s also about developing these young men to be successful in life.”
Bohannon expressed three core values that he believes he can instill in his team and those values will allow them to find that success.
“Faith, family, and football,” he said. “The culture of faith and family should be created here, and obviously we want to win, but there is also a bigger picture.”
The next big step for the program will be recruiting, and Bohannon is eager to find athletes who will be willing to immerse themselves in KSU football. He believes character and what an athlete does on the field on Saturday will help KSU build a winning culture and develop a strong program.
The team will look to be in competition at the start of the 2015 season. Bohannon will look to build a staff, promote KSU football and recruit players, all in preparation for the start of the inaugural season.
