SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio - - Notre Dame director of athletics Susan Hlavacek announced Thursday that Adam Howard has been hired as head football coach. Howard comes from Baldwin-Wallace, where he has been an assistant coach since 2002, serving as the Yellow Jackets' defensive coordinator since 2003. The 34-year-old Berea, Ohio, native becomes Notre Dame's first head coach; the College announced the development of a football program back on Nov. 25.

“Adam is the right coach for the job,” said Hlavacek. “I believe he has the ability to build a program the Notre Dame community will embrace and proudly support.”

Howard comes to College Road from across town, where he served as assistant head coach/defensive coordinator for Baldwin-Wallace. Howard was the Yellow Jackets' defensive coordinator the last six seasons (2003-08). At B-W, the former Wilmington College player (1993-97) developed one of the finest defensive corps in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC).

Howard was named the OAC's Assistant Coach of the Year in 2003, and his Yellow Jacket defenses consistently performed at a high level. B-W ranked in the OAC's top-four in fewest points allowed in five of his six seasons as defensive coordinator. In 2004, the Yellow Jackets ranked second in the league and 10th in the nation, yielding just 13.5 points per game. Howard's B-W defenses allowed fewer than 20.0 points per game in five of his six seasons in Berea.

Last season (2008), Baldwin-Wallace yielded 24.3 points (sixth, OAC) and 328.5 total yards (fifth) per contest.

The Falcons' new gridiron leader has a football background that is all-Ohio. He originally hails from New Carlisle, Ohio, and was a standout player at Springfield Northwestern High School.

Prior to heading to B-W, Howard was the defensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator at Wilmington College from 1999-2002. Before that, he served as the defensive ends coach at the University of Dayton in 1998-1999.

“I'm grateful and excited to be chosen to represent Notre Dame College as their first football coach,” said Howard. “I feel very fortunate to have been places in my career that have taken a special interest to help prepare me for this.”

Howard is a Wilmington College graduate (1997). While at Wilmington, he played four years of football and earned four varsity letters as a defensive back. He was a two-time All-American Mideast Conference selection and earned Football Gazette All-North Region honors as a senior. Howard served as a team captain as a senior at WC.

In addition to playing football at Wilmington, Howard ran track as a freshman and played baseball as a sophomore. He earned a varsity letter in each sport.

At B-W, Howard also served as an assistant coach on the Yellow Jackets' baseball team.

“We are pleased to have a coach of Adam Howard's enthusiasm and experience,” said Notre Dame president Dr. Andrew P. Roth. “He will be a pioneer for a program that will significantly enhance our campus and community culture. Football is a great sport, and it will help define Notre Dame as a coed institution. Adding this program is just one step in our 'Voyage of Discovery' as Notre Dame College continues its quest to be a Cleveland success story and an institution of distinction.”

According to Hlavacek, Howard and the fledgling program have hit the ground running. Recruiting efforts are underway now. The new Falcon sideline boss indicated that a 2009 leadership class will the backbone of the startup program:

“My first objective is going to be recruiting a class for 2009. We have had a lot of interest from local prospects, and it will be important for us to establish a presence in northeast Ohio.”

Notre Dame will begin play in the fall of 2009, with its first intercollegiate varsity season slated for 2010. With their development of a team, Notre Dame becomes the only scholarship football team in the metropolitan Cleveland area. And Howard has a vision of what that team will be like:

“I want Falcon football players to be defined by their actions. I want them to be classy, respectful, and extremely tough physically and mentally.”

For more information, contact sports information director Skip Snow at 216-373-5319 or ssnow@ndc.edu.

Notre Dame College is a co-educational liberal arts institution in South Euclid, Ohio. The Notre Dame Department of Athletics currently sponsors the Falcons' participation in 18 men's and women's intercollegiate sports, with Football and Men's and Women's Bowling programs scheduled to be instituted in 2009. The College is affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the American Mideast Conference (AMC). In 2007-08, Notre Dame athletic programs ranked in the nation's Top-50, based on the NAIA Director's Cup all-sports ranking as published by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA).