Jan. 13, 2006

New Britain, CT - Central Connecticut State University President John W. Miller and Director of Athletics Charles Jones announced on Friday that Jeff McInerney has been named the University's new head football coach. McInerney joins the Blue Devils after spending the last two seasons as the defensive coordinator at the University of Rhode Island.

"We are very pleased to have a coach of Jeff McInerney's stature come to lead our football program. The lessons he has learned being an assistant for some of the finest football coaches in the country, including John Robinson at the University of Southern California and the University of Nevada Las Vegas, will serve him well as he steps up to be a head coach," Miller said earlier this week. "I am impressed with what people have to say about him as a person, and with the quality of the defense he has prepared against us at Central Connecticut for the last two years while at the University of Rhode Island. He has connections to Connecticut as a graduate of South Windsor High School and as a recruiter for a fine program in a nearby state, which both make him all the more attractive to us."

McInerney becomes the 12th head coach in the 67 years of Central Connecticut football. The program holds an all-time record of 256-305-22 (.458). The Blue Devils posted an 8-2 record in 2004 and a 7-4 record last season, winning a share of the NEC title in both seasons. McInerney replaces two-year head coach Tom Masella, who resigned in December to become the head coach at Fordham.

"Jeff has been involved with many successful college football programs and learned from many great coaches," Jones said. "We are confident that he is the right choice to lead our football program and to continue the success we have enjoyed in each of the last two seasons. We are excited to welcome Jeff, his wife Leslie, and his two children, Ryan (19) and Amy (15) into the Central Connecticut football family."

McInerney spent the last two seasons as the defensive coordinator at the University of Rhode Island. The South Windsor High School graduate has also been an assistant at Tulsa, UNLV, Oregon State, Georgia Southern and Southern California. He received his Bachelor's Degree from Slippery Rock University in 1982 and his Master's Degree from Troy State University in 1984. His first coaching job came at Slippery Rock as an undergraduate in 1981 and then as a graduate assistant coach in 1982.

"My family and I are extremely excited to join a successful football program and the community at Central Connecticut," McInerney said on Friday. "I am familiar with the football program having faced Central Connecticut in each of the last two seasons, and I know that this team can continue to play football at a high level. There is a group of players here who now know what it means to win, and we are going to build on that to maintain the solid level of football that Blue Devil fans have now become familiar with. This is a great opportunity for me and my family; I am proud to be the new head coach of this football team."