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Willie Fritz

Head Coach

 

 

 

 

Willie Fritz is in his 13th season as the Mules’ head coach and became the winningest coach in program history in 2007. Fritz’s 12-season record at Central Missouri is now 89-44 (.669).

Fritz has led the Mules to a winning record in 10 of his 12 seasons, including back-to-back school-record 10 win seasons in 2001 and 2002. He is the only Mules’ football coach in school history to produce eight straight seasons of seven or more wins. 

Fritz became the winningest coach in Mules football history, picking up career win number 79 on October 6th, 2007 (38-7 at Emporia State).
(Fritz shown at right receiving commemorative football from Athletic Director Jerry Hughes to recognize his 79th career win)  

In 2001 he took the Mules to their first post-season berth since 1970, when they defeated the University of Minnesota-Duluth 48-17 in the Mineral Water Bowl.  
In 2002, Fritz’s squad made its first ever appearance in the NCAA Division II Playoffs when they travelled to the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley.

In 2003, Fritz’s charges finished 9-2, 7-2 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association and claimed a share of their first MIAA title since 1988.

Fritz ranks first in school history in wins and is the third-winningest coach by percentage in UCM history.  His 89 career wins also are eighth in MIAA history (Fritz is third among active coaches).

The Mules have produced 146 All-MIAA performers in Fritz’ tenure, including 41 first-teamers, and also have produced 24 All-Americans.

Central Missouri football also has enjoyed an 84 percent graduation rate with Fritz in command.  Of the 142 players who have played their senior season in the Cardinal & Black, 119 have graduated. In addition, three Mules have also been named Academic All-Americans, 14 have been Academic All-District, 14 have been selected Academic All-MIAA, and 144 have earned distinction on the MIAA Commissioner's Academic Honor Roll.

Fritz was selected on December 6, 1996, from a field of 98 candidates to take over the Mules’ football program. In four years (1993-96) at Blinn College in Brenham, Texas, the 48-year-old Fritz built that football program into the nation’s best in the junior college ranks, winning back-to-back undefeated national championships in 1995 and 1996. He was named national junior college coach of the year in both of those seasons.

Blinn won its last 24 games under Fritz and had an overall record of 39-5-1 in his four seasons. Before he arrived at Blinn, the program had gone 5-24-1 in the three previous seasons. For his efforts at Blinn, Fritz has been inducted into the National Junior College Athletics Association Hall of Fame.

Prior to taking the Blinn job, his first as a head coach, Fritz spent two seasons as special teams coordinator at Sam Houston State, a I-AA program. From 1987 to 1990, he was defensive coordinator at Coffeyville (Kan.) Community College, where the Red Ravens were 34-6-1 during that period and won the 1990 junior college national title.

As a player at Pittsburg State University (1978-81), Fritz was a four-year starter as a defensive back, played on two Central States Intercollegiate Conference conference championship teams and also was a two-year starter in basketball for the Gorillas.   Following his playing career, he served as a student assistant on the Gorillas’ staff in 1982, when the team won another conference championship. The following year he took a job as assistant football coach at his high school alma mater, Shawnee Mission (Kan.)  Northwest.

After one season in the high school ranks, he went to Sam Houston State and served two seasons as a graduate assistant on the football staff.  In 1986 he returned to high school coaching as an assistant at Willis (Texas) High School for one year before taking the job at Coffeyville in 1987.

After receiving his bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1983 from Pittsburg State, Fritz received his master’s degree in kinesiology from Sam Houston State in 1986.

He is not the first member of his family to coach at Central Missouri. His father, the late Harry Fritz, was the Mules’ head football coach in 1952 and later became executive director of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).

Fritz and his wife, Susan, have three children – Wesley (19), Elaine (17) and Brooke (12).

The best time for media representatives to contact Coach Fritz in his office during the week is from 9-11 a.m., at (660) 543-4252.

Years	Position	Team	Record
1978-81	Player	Pittsburg State University	32-12-0
1982	Student Ast.	Pittsburg State University	7-2-0
1983	Assistant	Shawnee Mission (Kan.) NW H.S.	7-2-0
1984-85	Grad. Ast.	Sam Houston State University	16-6-0
1986	Assistant	Willis (Texas) H.S.	6-4-0
1987-90	Def. Coor.	Coffeyville (Kan.) C.C.	34-6-1
1991-92	Assistant	Sam Houston State University	14-5-3
1993-96	Head Coach	Blinn College (Texas)	39-5-1
1997-Present	Head Coach	University of Central Missouri	89-44-0