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Greenville College
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Scotty Kessler Named Fifth Head Football Coach in Greenville College History

Kessler Brings 21 Years of Coaching Experience to Panther Football

GREENVILLE, ILL. - When the Greenville College football team takes the field this fall, they will do so under the direction of Scotty Kessler who was recently named the fifth head football coach in the Greenville College football program's 15-year history. He succeeds Rob Harley, who resigned in March after guiding the Panthers to an 18-23 record over the previous four seasons.

Kessler, 44, is a familiar face to the Greenville College athletic department, having served as a consultant to various coaches over the past five years.

He provides over 21 years of coaching experience, including 16 years as an assistant coach in colleges and high schools. Over the last five years, he has been a consultant to college football programs around the country, primarily at the NCAA Division III and NAIA levels.

His coaching résumé includes stints at the University of Tennessee, Pacific Lutheran (Wash.) University, North Park (Ill.) College, Trinity Valley (Texas) Community College, and high schools in California and Florida.

While at the University of Tennessee, Kessler was a graduate assistant coach on teams that won the 1983 Citrus Bowl and 1986 Sugar Bowl. Tennessee won the Southeastern Conference championship in 1985.

Kessler was later an assistant coach at Pacific Lutheran University at a time when the team participated in the NAIA national playoffs for five straight seasons (1992-1996). In 1993, the team won the NAIA Division II national championship.

A 1981 summa cum laude graduate of Pacific Lutheran University, Kessler played defensive back for the University of the Pacific before concluding his playing career with two seasons at Pacific Lutheran. In two seasons at PLU, Kessler had a major impact on the football program, leading them to a 1979 NAIA Division II national semifinal and the 1980 NAIA Division II national championship.

He earned NAIA first team all-American honors in 1980 after receiving second team all-American recognition following his junior campaign. A co-captain and safety on the 1980 title team, Kessler was named the defensive player of the game in PLU's 38-10 national championship victory over Wilmington (Ohio) College.

In the championship game alone, Kessler had 12 unassisted tackles, four assisted tackles, four pass deflections, and four interceptions. The four interceptions set an NAIA playoff record that stands to this day.
In two years, Kessler recorded 196 total tackles, 11 pass deflections, 17 interceptions, and one fumble recovery.

These accomplishments earned him a try-out with the Denver Broncos of the National Football League in 1981.

Kessler is single and comes to Greenville from Tacoma, Wash.

Greenville College is a four-year accredited Christian liberal arts school with more than 1200 traditional undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree completion students. Founded in 1892 and affiliated with the Free Methodist Church, the college is located in Greenville, Illinois, 45 miles east of St. Louis.

Last updated: May 7, 2002