ASHLAND, Ohio — The venerable Ashland University football program officially has a new leader.
The school on Tuesday introduced longtime associate head coach Doug Geiser as its new head coach. Geiser replaces Lee Owens, who announced his retirement in December after 18 seasons.
"Throughout the search process, we talked about integrity, commitment and work ethic," Athletic Director Al King said in a press conference. "Doug exemplifies all of those attributes. He's committed to giving our student-athletes a quality experience. Doug's vision aligns with the goals and objectives of the department and the university. He'll represent Ashland University with class and poise."
A Wooster area native who attended Triway High School and later played at Cornell, Geiser worked for various high school teams in Northern Ohio before joining Owens' staff at the University of Akron in 1995. He worked his way up from graduate assistant to tight ends coach before following his mentor to Ashland, spending his entire tenure as offensive line coach while also adding the associate head coach title in 2007. This is the 54-year-old's first head coaching job at any level.
"This is a dream job because Ashland is a very special place," Geiser said. "It's one of the best jobs in Division II football. I'm both honored and humbled to have been chosen for this position."
Much of why the position is so desirable is because of Owens, who now closes the book on a career that spanned more than four decades. The Mansfield native first made a name for himself in Ashland County when he led Weller Crestview to an unbeaten season in 1981. A Division II state championship at Galion followed four years later before a season at Lancaster led to the head job at prestigious Massillon Washington, where he won 35 games from 1988-91 and finished 3-1 against archrival Canton McKinley.
Owens moved on to the college game as an assistant at Ohio State under John Cooper before being hired as Akron's head coach in 1995. His nine years at the helm saw the Zips post a 40-61 record (7-2 against rival Kent State) with three winning seasons, but they failed to win or even play for a Mid-American Conference championship. Owens was fired despite a 7-5 campaign in 2003.
Still, his legacy had not yet been written.
Fresh off his ouster in Summit County, Ashland brought Owens in to resurrect a program that had fallen into mediocrity, and it didn't take long for him to do just that. A Division II playoff appearance was followed by the program's first-ever postseason victory a year later. In 2012, the Eagles posted their first undefeated regular season in 40 years. In all, Owens guided his teams to four conference titles and six playoff berths, and his 137 victories are more than any Ashland coach except Hall of Famer Fred Martinelli.
"In 45 years, I have been blessed," Owens, 66, said when he decided to call it quits. "Our family's been blessed."
Tributes for Owens have since poured in, with Cooper calling him "a good football coach, a very good recruiter and an even better person." Geiser echoed those sentiments Tuesday, lauding his former boss as a "future Hall of Famer" who helped establish "the culture that is Ashland football."
"Our goal is to build upon that legacy and to take Eagle football to heights it's never before seen, on and off the field," Geiser declared.