Northern Iowa Names Todd Stepsis Next Head Football Coach

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – University of Northern Iowa President Mark Nook and Director of Athletics Megan Franklin announced that Todd Stepsis has accepted the UNI Football head coaching position. Stepsis joins the Panthers after a six-year stint as the head coach at Drake University. He has also served as Drake’s offensive coordinator for the past three seasons.

CSA is grateful to have assisted President Nook and AD Franklin on this exciting search.

“Todd is a mentor of men. His winning culture is predicated on the cultivation of the very best from the brotherhood of the team. Coach Stepsis has been a winner from his playing days to serving as head coach. His experience as both an offensive and defensive coordinator gives him a unique edge in the head coaching role. Todd is the absolute right leader of the next era of men in the UNI locker room and on the coaching staff, and he will embrace our storied alumni,” Franklin continued. “Todd’s vision to recruit and mentor men who lead on the field, on campus, and in the community will result in winning championships and graduating men of service to their families, professions and communities. Join me in welcoming Todd, Angie, Addison, and Avery, Zander, and Zoe to the UNI Panther family.”

“On behalf of Angie and our family, we are extremely grateful to President Nook and Megan for extending us this tremendous opportunity at the University of Northern Iowa,” Stepsis said. “I have a great appreciation for the winning tradition of UNI Football, as well as the litany of respected and highly successful head coaches who have held this role.

“As someone who has lived in Iowa for the past decade and who has recruited across the Midwest, I know the reputation of excellence that University of Northern Iowa carries as both an academic institution and as an athletic department,” Stepsis continued. “We will seek to live up to that championship legacy and field teams that all UNI students and alums can be proud of. Angie and I are looking forward to raising our family in a community like Cedar Falls. We can’t wait to get there to meet the team, the support staff and the fans. We’re going to have a lot of fun together in the UNI-Dome!”

Stepsis was named FCS Region 4 Coach of the Year in 2023. His squad allowed a mere 12.1 ppg in conference play powered by Claypool, who finished the campaign with 19.0 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks, five forced fumbles and two pass breakups. Claypool concluded the regular ranked second among FCS defenders in sacks and fifth in tackles for loss. A year earlier Claypool was named the PFL Freshman Defensive Player of the Year.

Stepsis was named Drake’s head coach on Dec. 21, 2018 after serving five seasons as the Bulldogs defensive coordinator. In his initial season at the helm, Drake tied for the second in the league with 21 all-conference honorees. The Bulldogs also landed three student-athletes on the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team, tying for the best mark among all NCAA Division I football programs.

Stepsis joined the Drake staff as defensive coordinator in 2014 following six seasons in the same role at NCAA Division II power Saginaw Valley State. During his tenure with that program, the Cardinals produced a 44-23 record, three consecutive division titles and three NCAA playoff berths. In total, he coached 37 defensive all-conference performers at Saginaw Valley State.

Prior to Saginaw Valley State, he coached at NCAA Division III Capital University in Bexley, Ohio for eight seasons. During that span, the program amassed a 57-20 record. Capital earned three straight NCAA Division III playoff berths from 2005-07, advancing to the quarterfinals in both 2005 and 2006. He began his coaching career at Otterbein University where he coached the top-ranked pass defense in the conference and helped the program to its first winning season in nearly two decades.

Stepsis graduated with magna cum laude honors from Ashland University, where he was a four-year member of the football team, in 1999 with a degree in special education. He also received a master’s degree from Ashland in sport education. He and his wife, Angie, have two daughters, Addison and Avery. He is also father to a son, Zander, and daughter, Zoe.

For the full release from UNI Athletics, click HERE.