The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team will have two additional full-time coaches as the Cru looks to defend its 2016 NCAA Division III National Championship. UMHB Head Coach Pete Fredenburg announced the return of Mark Carey as a defensive coach and the promotion of Kieth Mullins to full-time assistant on Wednesday (June 7th).
Mullins will move to a full-time position after spending the past three seasons as a part-time assistant coach. He will continue to coach receivers for UMHB and will also serve as head coach of the Cru's expanded junior varsity program. Mullins joined UMHB after a 30-year high school coaching career that included a 13-year stint as Head Football Coach and Athletics Director at Merkel High School. In addition to his outstanding work with the UMHB receiving corps, Mullins has guided the Cru junior varsity to a 16-3 record in his three season as head coach. He and his wife, Shelly, have three sons, Jeremy, Landry and Baylor. Baylor just graduated from UMHB after a standout four-year playing career that saw him earn All-American honors and be named a Gagliardi Trophy Semifinalist in 2016
Carey returns to his alma mater after spending the last five seasons as Co-Defensive Coordinator at Texas Lutheran University and will coach the defensive line for UMHB. Carey was part of a coaching staff that helped lead the Bulldogs to three consecutive Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championships and TLU's first NCAA playoff appearance. His defenses were nationally ranked in multiple categories in each of those seasons. Carey joined the Bulldog coaching staff in 2010 and coached defensive line for two years before he was promoted to coordinator. Carey also spent six years as an assistant coach at UMHB and helped lead the Cru to five American Southwest Conference championships and an Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl appearance in that time. He was a two-year letterman for UMHB as a tight end and also played two years of football at Louisiana College. Carey graduated from UMHB in 2006 and also earned his Master's Degree at UMHB. Carey and his wife Jessica, a former Cru volleyball player, have two children, Theresa and Maria.
"I am very excited to be able to complete our staff with two experienced and talented coaches like Kieth and Mark," Cru Head Coach Pete Fredenburg said. "They are both very familiar with our program and our expectations and will help bolster a coaching staff that I feel may be the best in the nation."
The 2017 edition of the Cru football program will report to campus in August. UMHB kicks off the 2017 season with a home conference game against Sul Ross State on September 9th. The Cru finished the 2016 season at 15-0 and won the National Championship with a 10-7 victory over Wisconsin-Oshkosh in the Stagg Bowl.
