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New head football coach vows to emphasize excellence on field, in classroom alike

By Amy Gage
December 28, 2001

Chris Meidt is the new head football coach at St. Olaf College, officials announced Dec. 28. Meidt, 32, comes to the Ole football program from a seven-year stint at Bethel College in St. Paul, where he served as offensive coordinator and assistant coach, helping lead the team to the MIAC championship in 2000 and 2001. Meidt produced the top-ranked offense in the MIAC for three of the past five years. He also coached five first-team All-Americans.


Chris Meidt is the new head football coach at St. Olaf.
?Chris has proven himself a champion as a player, a coach and a person,? said St. Olaf Athletic Director Cindy Book. ?He embraces the Division III philosophy of putting the ?student? first in ?student-athlete,? and he has demonstrated a commitment to excellence both on the field and in the classroom.?

Meidt was named the 2001 National Assistant Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association. He was a faculty member in the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at Bethel, where he also directed camps and clinics for coaches and players.

?St. Olaf College is one of the finest colleges in Division III and epitomizes a balance of excellence among academics, sports and community life,? Meidt said. ?Past football coaches at St. Olaf have been legendary. I?m honored to follow in their footsteps.? Meidt replaces Paul Miller, who resigned in November to return to teaching in Apple Valley.

Meidt received a bachelor?s degree in mathematics and business from Bethel College in 1992 and earned an MBA from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota in 1996. He was offensive coordinator at Becker High School in Becker, Minn., from 1993 to ?95 and held the same position at Columbia Heights High School from 1990 to ?93. Prior to his coaching and teaching career, Meidt was a computer systems analyst at Burlington Northern Railroad in St. Paul.

A 1988 graduate of Minneota High School in Minneota, Minn., Meidt played quarterback for his father, Gerhard Meidt, a Minnesota Hall of Fame head coach. Chris was a member of the high school state championship team in 1986 and ?87 and was named the Associated Press Minnesota Player of the Year in 1987. He was honored as a two-time all-state quarterback and three-time all-region quarterback. While in high school, Meidt set national passing records for career attempts (1,122), completions (646) and touchdown passes (101).

Meidt and his wife, Allison Meidt, and their three children will relocate to Northfield. Allison is an at-home mother to Madeline, 6, and 4-year-old twins Alexander and Eveline.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.