Courtesy of the ULM Athletic Media Relations office
Charlie Weatherbie, who took over struggling football programs at Utah State and the Naval Academy and guided both to bowl victories, was introduced Wednesday as the 13th head football coach at Louisiana-Monroe. The announcement came at a press conference at the Anna Gray Noe Alumni Center on the ULM campus.
"I said at the outset of this search that we wanted to work quickly, but more importantly we wanted to make the right decision on our next head football coach," ULM Director of Athletics Bruce Hanks said in introducing Weatherbie to the overflow crowd of supporters, University and athletic department personnel. "I don't know that we always moved as quickly as everyone would have liked, but I am confident that this Search Committee got the right man for the right time to run our football program."
"The Search Committee was impressed from the outset with both the amount of interest we received in the head coaching position and the quality of the applicants," Hanks said. "As the process progressed, it became clear to us that Charlie Weatherbie possessed all of the attributes we were looking for in our head coach -- character, experience, proven success as a head coach, and the ability to succeed in a University setting similar to ours. And his tenure at Navy shows that academic success for our student-athletes is also something that we share in common with our new head football coach. Numerous experienced individuals in the industry gave Charlie strong recommendations."
Weatherbie said he is excited about the challenge of winning a Sun Belt Conference championship in Monroe, but said it's going to take a group effort.
"I am very excited to come here to ULM. I know that we have the opportunity to be successful and get this program turned around," Weatherbie said. "Once you've been successful, it's easier to get back there. It's like driving a car, once you've been there, it's easier to get back. ULM has been there. We can win in the Sun Belt Conference and go to the New Orleans Bowl, that is our goal. It's about changing an attitude, getting everyone on board and behind this football program, it's going to take a total team effort. It takes the whole city of Monroe, the entire community to bring back the pride in this great program, but I know that it is something that we can get done with the help of everyone in this room."
Weatherbie, 48, has twice proven that he can take over sub .500 football programs and instantly transform them into winners. At Utah State, he inherited a program that had not had a winning season in 12 years and took the Aggies to their first Big West Conference championship in 15 years, their first bowl game in 32 years and their first bowl victory ever, beating Ball State 42-33 in the 1993 Las Vegas Bowl. He was 15-19 in three seasons (1992-94) at the Logan, Utah, school and the Aggies' 1993 win over Brigham Young still stands as Utah State's only win in the last 18 meetings with their in-state rivals.
At Navy, Weatherbie had similar success. He took the Midshipmen, who had suffered through 12 consecutive losing seasons prior to his arrival, to a 9-3 record and the championship of the 1996 Aloha Bowl in his second season. The nine wins were the most by a Navy team in 18 years and no Navy team has won more games since 1905. He also became just the third coach in school history to win a bowl game.
In 1997, Weatherbie led Navy to a 7-4 mark, the first time since the 1981-82 seasons that the Mids had compiled back-to-back winning seasons. The 16 wins over two years tied for the third most in school history. He was named ECAC Coach of the Year and was the head defensive coach at the Kelly Tire Blue/Gray Classic. Weatherbie's first team in Annapolis, Md., went 5-6 in 1995, after Navy had won just nine games the previous four seasons combined. Overall, he was 30-45 at Navy and is 45-64 in nine-plus seasons as a head coach on the NCAA Division I-A level.
ULM President James E. Cofer, Sr. thanked the effort of the Search Committee during his remarks and urged the Indians' fans to look ahead to an exciting future for the football program and the University.
"The selection of Charlie Weatherbie as ULM's head football coach should signal everyone that we are serious about having a successful program," Cofer said. "Charlie is a leader and a winner. He will guide our student athletes to success on the field and in the classroom. I want to thank the committee and all of our boosters for their constant and strong support of ULM athletics."
"Under Charlie's direction, the progress we've made at ULM will continue in our football program. Our players and our program are looking ahead to a bright future. It is time for our entire community to step forward and get behind our football program. Your continued support of ULM athletics -- through attendance at events, ticket sales, and donations to the foundation -- is needed more than ever. We welcome Charlie to the ULM Family."
Prior to his head coaching experience at Utah State and Navy, Weatherbie served as an assistant coach at Arkansas for two years, as quarterbacks coach the first season and offensive coordinator the second. From 1984-89, he was an assistant at Air Force, helping the Falcons to a 48-25-1 record in six seasons. Weatherbie coached the quarterbacks and receivers during his stint as an assistant at Wyoming from 1981-83 as the Cowboys compiled a 20-15 mark over three seasons.
A native of Sedan, Kan., Weatherbie was the starting quarterback at Oklahoma State from 1974-76. In his senior season, he led the Cowboys to the co-championship of the Big Eight Conference and a victory over defending national champion Oklahoma. During his OSU career, he accounted for 2,950 yards of total offense (2,215 passing and 735 rushing) and 25 touchdowns (14 passing and 11 rushing), and led the Cowboys to bowl victories in 1974 and '76.
A member of the Dean's Honor Roll at Oklahoma State, Weatherbie earned his bachelor's degree from OSU in 1977. His first coaching position came as a graduate assistant at his alma mater in 1977.
Weatherbie and his wife, Leann, are the parents of two sons, Lance (25) and Jonas (23). Jonas is a former quarterback at the University of Kansas.
Weatherbie's appointment is pending the approval of the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors.