Being the son of a US Air Force veteran, Coach Jared Williamson has moved around a lot.
Despite living in Germany, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Alaska, the former offensive coordinator for Titan Football has returned to Illinois Wesleyan, this time as the Titans’ new head football coach.
After serving four years under Coach Norm Eash, Williamson left for positions at Robert Morris College and later Roosevelt University.
Across the two schools, Williamson coached more than 150 Academic All-Conference selections, 71 NAIA Scholar-Athlete Honorees, and 11 Academic All-Americans.
During Williamson’s IWU hiatus, he kept close ties to alumni and staff, including athletic director Mike Wagner.
“I had the pleasure and honor of coaching with Jared back in 2006 and 2007,” Wagner said.
“I know he always followed Illinois Wesleyan Football.”
Williamson started working for the football staff on January 6, but Wagner estimates that he put in 80 hours beforehand to get his program started.
Williamson was attracted back to IWU because of the campus’ small yet social atmosphere, with the added benefit of having Illinois State University nearby, and the athletic opportunities Shirk Center brings to athletes, which just celebrated 30 years of operation.
He also notes IWU’s excellence in academics. Students can have close relationships with professors, and the alumni network was so strong he could see it even in Chicago.
“We had a lot of interest in this job, but Coach Williamson rose to the top pretty quickly with his vision, his love for Illinois Wesleyan University, what he has previously done as a coach and what I can see him doing for our program moving forward,” Wagner said.
Wagner is optimistic there will be few issues with the transition among Titan Football athletes.
“The players responded to his coaching style and his leadership. Even though he was demanding of them, they all respected him and loved him and played hard for him,” Wagner said.
The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW) is a competitive division, with North Central football recently winning the Division III championship, but Williamson is confident in the players’ ability to take on tough competition.
“It’s brick by brick, you know? We just got to build a foundation with players who want to work on this team,” Williamson said.
Willamson and staff understand that filling Eash’s shoes is a big change in Titan Football, but they plan to continue Eash’s focus on “developing the young man through football.”
“Tradition is a word we throw out a lot around here,” Matt Sosler, Illinois Wesleyan sports broadcaster said, and Williamson plans on keeping those Titan traditions alive.
“I think a couple of things Coach Eash did were the same things his coach did,” Williamson said. “Those special traditions Titan Football has done for over 70 years, you have to keep those.”
Only the third head coach in the last 75 years of Titan Football, Williamson is stepping up to a program with a rich history and an opportunity to forge a new legacy for IWU athletics.
Williamson has his work cut out for him, not only trying to follow up the legacy of a legend in the Illinois Wesleyan community but also rebuilding a team that is expected to lose 15 graduating seniors.
But, Coach Williamson is ready to lead IWU into what could be the next great era of Titan Football; only time will tell.