Chris Creighton

Christopher William Creighton (born February 7, 1969) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach at Eastern Michigan University, a position he has held since the 2014 season. Creighton served as the head coach at Ottawa University from 1997 to 2000 and at Wabash College from 2001 to 2007 before moving to Drake University for the 2008 through 2013 seasons.

Chris Creighton
Creighton addresses an audience at Drake's Ray Center in 2013
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamEastern Michigan
ConferenceMid-American
Record28–47
Biographical details
Born (1969-02-07) February 7, 1969
San Francisco, California
Alma mater
Playing career
1988–1990Kenyon
Position(s)Quarterback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1991–1992Concordia (IL) (OC)
1993Limhamn Griffins
1993–1996Manchester (IN) (OC)
1997–2000Ottawa (KS)
2001–2007Wabash
2008–2013Drake
2014–presentEastern Michigan
Head coaching record
Overall164–93
Bowls0–3
Tournaments0–2 (NAIA playoffs)
5–3 (NCAA D-III playoffs)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2 KCAC (1997, 2000)
4 NCAC (2002, 2005–2007)
2 PFL (2011–2012)
Awards
KCAC Coach of the Year (1997)
3x NCAC Coach of the Year (2002, 2005, 2007)

Creighton played quarterback at Kenyon College where he established several North Coast Athletic Conference records (since broken). As the head coach at Wabash in early 2000s he turned the school into a national contender at the NCAA Division III level. At Drake he shared back-to-back Pioneer Football League conference titles. Creighton holds the unusual distinction of having won football games on three different continents. In 1993 he was a player-coach for the Limhamn Griffins, a Swedish club team, and won a league championship. In 2011, he coached Drake in an exhibition game in the Sheikh Amri Abeid Memorial Stadium in Arusha, Tanzania, defeating a Mexican all-star team. In addition, he coached Wabash in exhibition games in Austria and Panama.

Playing career

Creighton grew up in San Francisco and attended his first Oakland Raiders game at the age of eight. Creighton remained a "diehard" Raiders fan even as his playing and coaching career pulled him east.[1] Creighton attended Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, where he played quarterback from 1988–1990. In 1989 Kenyon won a share of the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) title, Kenyon's first and As of 2020 only conference championship. In 1990 Creighton's 29 touchdown passes set an NCAC record which stood until 2001 when Wabash College's Jake Knott–playing under Creighton–eclipsed it.[2] His 48 passing touchdowns over his two years as a starter were also an NCAC record until Kenyon's Brad Hensley surpassed it in 1994.[3] Kenyon inducted Creighton into its athletic hall of fame in 2008.[4] While at Kenyon, Creighton studied abroad in Ecuador, kindling an interest in developing countries.[5]

Coaching career

Concordia and Sweden

Following graduation in 1991, Creighton became offensive coordinator at Concordia University Chicago under Jim Braun while working on his master's degree, which he completed in 1993.[6][4] In the spring of 1993, he received an opportunity to play quarterback for Sweden's Limhamn Griffins; where he also served as head coach as the Griffins won Sweden's championship. According to Creighton, he learned that he would be the head coach when he arrived in Sweden.[7]

Manchester

Creighton returned to the United States in the fall of 1993 to become offensive coordinator at Manchester College in North Manchester, Indiana, under Dale Liston.[6] Creighton would spend four seasons at Manchester, continuing under Dave Harms after the latter replaced Liston following the 1994 season.[8]

Ottawa

Creighton's first head coaching job was at Ottawa University in Ottawa, Kansas from 1997 to 2000. Ottawa competed as part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). He succeeded Dave Dallas, who had taken the head coaching job at Kansas Wesleyan University.[9] In those four seasons, Creighton's teams went 32–9 and won the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference championship in 1997 and 2000. He was the 26th head football coach for the Ottawa University Braves and ranked fourth in school history in total wins and first in winning percentage (.780).[10] Creighton, who has a life-long interest in mountain climbing, would take his seniors on mountain-climbing trips. Creighton explained that the trips encouraged personal growth: "You're doing something that maybe you didn't think you could do...I just think you grow as a person in those situations."[11] Steve Ryan, then an assistant coach, carried over the practice of mountain hikes when he came head coach at Morningside College, and credited the hikes with improving the senior leadership of the team.[12]

Wabash

Creighton departed Ottawa after the 2000 season to become the head coach at Wabash College, replacing Greg Carlson. Wabash, like Kenyon and Manchester, completed in NCAA Division III.[13] The move returned him to the NCAC, and his first game was against Manchester and his mentor, Dave Harms.[8] Creighton would be at Wabash from 2001 to 2007, and turned the program into a "national championship contender."[7] His career coaching record at Wabash was 63–15, ranking him third in school history in total wins and fifth in winning percentage (.808).[14] In 2002 Creighton was named NCAC coach of the year, after a season in which Wabash "won their first NCAC title, finished undefeated for the first time since 1982, and made the playoffs for the first time since 1977."[15] He would also be named NCAC coach of the year in 2005 and 2007. On departing Wabash for Drake after the 2007 season, Creighton called his years at Wabash "the best years of my life, both on the field and off."[16] Under Creighton Wabash played exhibition games in Austria (against the Vienna Vikings) and Panama.[5]

While head coach at Wabash, Creighton began a practice of writing to national championship-winning coaches to seek their advice on building a successful team. One such coach, Ohio State's Jim Tressel, would later call Creighton "one of [his] favorites", and acted as a reference for Creighton when the latter applied for the Drake job.[17][18][7]

Drake
Sheikh Amri Abeid Memorial Stadium in Arusha, Tanzania, played host to the first football game in Africa.

On December 22, 2007, Creighton was named the head football coach at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, replacing interim head coach Steve Loney. Drake, a member of the non-football Missouri Valley Conference, played football in the Pioneer Football League, a Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) conference whose members do not award scholarships for football. Creighton coached at Drake from 2008 to 2013, compiling a record of 41–22. Although NCAA regulations prevented Creighton from leading mountain climbing trips such as those he had at Ottawa, an unofficial tradition of climbing Pikes Peak developed during his tenure.[11] In 2011 Creighton's interests in developing countries and mountain climbing intersected when he helped organize the 2011 Kilimanjaro Bowl, the first football game to be played on the African continent. Drake defeated a team of Mexican all-stars 17–7, giving Creighton a victory on his third continent.[7] During the trip, which also included various service-learning activities, Creighton led his players on a six-day hike up Mount Kilimanjaro.[19][20] Under Creighton Drake shared the Pioneer League title in 2011 and 2012.[21]

Eastern Michigan

On December 11, 2013, Creighton was named the head football coach at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan, replacing Ron English. Eastern Michigan competed in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). It was Creighton's first job at that level of competition.[21] Creighton inherited a difficult situation. Eastern Michigan had not had a winning season since 1995 nor gone to a bowl game since 1987. English had gone 11–46 over the past five seasons. In his first two seasons, Creighton won only three games. Amid public criticism, including calls by the faculty union and student government in early 2016 for the school to move down to FCS, the university reaffirmed its commitment to Creighton and staying in FBS.[22]

In 2016 Creighton would lead Eastern to a 7–5 regular season record, its first winning season in twenty years. Eastern was invited to the 2016 Bahamas Bowl, its first postseason appearance since the 1987 California Bowl. It was also the sixth different country in which Creighton had coached a game.[23][5] That season included a victory over Rutgers, Eastern's first victory over a "Power Five" opponent. By the 2018 season, average attendance at home games had increased from 4,000 to 15,000.[24] The improved performance protected the football program in early 2018 when budget cuts eliminated four other sports, amid ongoing controversy within the campus community as to whether the program, successful or no, was worth funding.[25]

Creighton's performance at Eastern, regarded as one of, if not the "toughest place to win in Division I football", attracted attention from other programs.[26] Following the 2018 season Creighton was a rumored candidate for the head coach job at Temple University that eventually went to Rod Carey.[27] Creighton's was one of several names floated during the intermittent negotiations between Greg Schiano and Rutgers which culminated in Schiano's return.[28] In 2019 Eastern finished 6–7 after losing to the University of Pittsburgh in the Quick Lane Bowl; it was the first time Eastern had qualified for the postseason in back-to-back years.[29]

Personal life

Creighton is married to his wife, Heather. They have three children.[18] Creighton is a Christian. At the age of 16 he joined Teen Missions International, an interdenominational Christian mission organization. Creighton credits the organization with eliminating his use of profanity, unusual in the coaching ranks.[30]

Head coaching record
Year Team Overall ConferenceStanding Bowl/playoffs
Ottawa Braves (Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference) (1997–2000)
1997 Ottawa 9–27–1T–1stL NAIA First Round
1998 Ottawa 8–26–22nd
1999 Ottawa 6–35–3T–3rd
2000 Ottawa 9–29–01stL NAIA First Round
Ottawa: 32–927–6
Wabash Little Giants (North Coast Athletic Conference) (2001–2007)
2001 Wabash 8–26–1T–2nd
2002 Wabash 12–17–01stL NCAA Division III Quarterfinal
2003 Wabash 7–34–2T–2nd
2004 Wabash 6–44–3T–4th
2005 Wabash 11–17–01stL NCAA Division III Second Round
2006 Wabash 8–26–1T–1st
2007 Wabash 11–27–01stL NCAA Division III Quarterfinal
Wabash: 63–1541–7
Drake Bulldogs (Pioneer Football League) (2008–2013)
2008 Drake 6–54–4T–4th
2009 Drake 8–36–2T–3rd
2010 Drake 7–46–23rd
2011 Drake 9–27–1T–1st
2012 Drake 8–37–1T–1st
2013 Drake 6–55–3T–4th
Drake: 41–2235–13
Eastern Michigan Eagles (Mid-American Conference) (2014–present)
2014 Eastern Michigan 2–101–76th (West)
2015 Eastern Michigan 1–110–86th (West)
2016 Eastern Michigan 7–64–44th (West)L Bahamas
2017 Eastern Michigan 5–73–55th (West)
2018 Eastern Michigan 7–65–3T–2nd (West)L Camellia
2019 Eastern Michigan 6–73–5T–5th (West)L Quick Lane
Eastern Michigan: 28–4716–32
Total:164–93
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

[31]

Notes
  1. Newby, John (June 7, 2019). "Maxx Crosby's college coach is a diehard Oakland Raiders fan". 247Sports.com. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  2. Thompson, Ken (September 28, 2002). "Wabash puts streak on line". Journal and Courier. p. 74. Retrieved December 26, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Zban, Milan (October 14, 1994). "Kenyon's Hensley chooses offense". Akron Beacon Journal. p. 27. Retrieved December 26, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Creighton to speak at OU". Ottawa Herald. February 23, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  5. Zuke, Ryan (January 19, 2019). "Tanzania? Panama? Bahamas next stop in Eastern Michigan's Chris Creighton's world coaching journey". Mlive.com. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  6. Pickett, Bill (September 28, 2002). "Manchester locates assistant coach in land of midnight sun". Indianapolis Star. p. C1; C4. Retrieved December 26, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Miller, Bryce (November 6, 2013). "An Uncommon Coach". Des Moines Register. p. C1; C4. Retrieved December 26, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Wire, Adam (September 6, 2001). "Little Giants ready to explode". Journal Review. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  9. Davidson, Bob (October 25, 1997). "Coyotes' Dallas faces former team". Salina Journal. p. 23. Retrieved December 26, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "2010 Football Media Guide". Ottawa Braves. p. 128. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  11. Johnson, Dan (October 9, 2010). "Bulldogs still high on Pikes Peak climb". Des Moines Register. p. 26. Retrieved December 27, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. Birch, Tommy (December 20, 2019). "Morningside football climbs the national ranks by hiking up actual mountains". Des Moines Register. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  13. "Ottawa coach gets head job at Wabash". Manhattan Mercury. December 27, 2000. p. 11. Retrieved December 26, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. Wabash College coaching records Archived November 21, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  15. "Wabash dominates awards". Daily Journal. November 27, 2002. p. 13. Retrieved December 26, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. "Bulldogs choose Division III coach". Des Moines Register. December 21, 2007. p. 32. Retrieved December 26, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. Tressel 2010, p. 213
  18. Witosky, Tom (December 23, 2007). "New Drake coach had big success in Div. III". Des Moines Register. p. 24. Retrieved December 26, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. Cook, LaRue (April 12, 2011). "Africa's first organized football game". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  20. Meredith, Luke (May 22, 2011). "Drake wins first college football game in Africa". Des Moines Register. p. 23. Retrieved December 26, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. Brudenell, Mike (December 13, 2013). "Character players are Creighton's goal". Detroit Free Press. p. B7. Retrieved December 26, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. Jesse, David (April 26, 2016). "Eastern Michigan: We're keeping football". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  23. "(Balmy) Bahamas Bowl hosts upstarts Eastern Michigan, Old Dominion". Arizona Daily Star. December 13, 2016. p. B4. Retrieved December 26, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. Windsor, Shawn (December 14, 2018). "The Longest Yard". Detroit Free Press. p. B9. Retrieved December 26, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. Jesse, David (March 21, 2018). "EMU cuts four sports, leaves football untouched". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved December 26, 2019.
  26. Windsor, Shawn (December 14, 2018). "Why EMU's Chris Creighton may have nation's toughest coaching job". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  27. Zuke, Ryan (January 9, 2019). "EMU's Chris Creighton reportedly candidate for Temple head coaching job". Mlive.com. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  28. Paul, Tony (November 29, 2019). "Could Jim McElwain's remarkable run at Central Michigan be short-lived?". Detroit News. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  29. Petzold, Evan (December 26, 2019). "Eastern Michigan football knows fortunes could change with Quick Lane Bowl win". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  30. Rock, Brad (January 16, 2014). "Brad Rock: College coach says no to profanity". Deseret News. Retrieved December 27, 2019.
  31. "Chris Creighton - Football Coach". Eastern Michigan Athletics. Retrieved January 17, 2020.

References
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