BEAU BALDWIN INTRODUCED AS NEW FOOTBALL COACH AT CENTRAL WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
Former Wildcat Quarterback and Assistant Coach Becomes 21st Gridiron Leader in School History ELLENSBURG - Former Central Washington University quarterback and assistant coach
Beau Baldwin has been announced as the 21st head football coach in the university's storied football history, director of athletics
Jack Bishop announced on Thursday morning.
Baldwin, 34, replaces John Zamberlin, who resigned December 15 to accept the head coaching position at Idaho State University.
Baldwin has spent the past four seasons as the offensive coordinator at Eastern Washington University in Cheney. He helped guide the Eagles to a pair of NCAA Division I-AA postseason appearances, and in 2005, he coached EWU quarterback Erik Meyer to the Walter Payton Award as the top player in Division I-AA football.
"It's an honor to be able to jump back into the Wildcat program," Baldwin said. "I have learned a lot, both from (former coach John) Zamberlin, and have gained a lot of knowledge on how to do things the right way. I am excited to be able to help keep the winning tradition alive and to hopefully be able to take it to another level in the North Central Conference and on the national level."
"Going into the process, we wanted to make sure we made a good decision," Bishop said. "Every candidate would have been a good decision, but with Beau, we felt like we made a great decision.
"Beau has a brilliant offensive mind, he's committed to Central Washington University - he has coached here and he will bring fresh ideas to our program. I feel that he is someone that our student-athletes will be able to relate well to and to follow as they continue their pursuit of national recognition for both our football program and for our university."
In addition to his experience at Eastern Washington, Baldwin spent nine seasons as an assistant coach at CWU. A 1996 graduate of the university with a degree in education, Baldwin was quarterbacks coach with the Wildcats from 1994-2002. As an assistant under former coaches Jeff Zenisek (1994-96) and Zamberlin (1997-2002), he helped lead Central to playoff appearances in 1995 and 1998 (NAIA) and 2002 (NCAA Division II). The Wildcats shared the NAIA national championship in 1995. During his tenure as an assistant, he helped coach current NFL quarterback and his former teammate, Jon Kitna, as well as two of the program's greatest quarterbacks in Casey Jacox and Zak Hill.
As a player, Baldwin was a member of the Wildcats from 1990-93. He appeared in 22 career games and had his most prolific season as a sophomore in 1991, when he threw for 1,052 yards and six touchdowns in nine games. Included among that campaign was a 467-yard passing game against Simon Fraser. Baldwin also tossed the game-winning touchdown pass with four seconds to go in that same game versus the Clan to help Central take a 38-35 victory. He then spent his final two seasons as a backup to Kitna, playing in six games each season.
Baldwin is originally from Tacoma, where he prepped at Curtis High School. He will be joined in Ellensburg by his wife of two and a half years, Nicole, and two daughters, Mia Janae and Macie Patricia.
Press Conference Photo Gallery EXTERNAL LINKS KIMA-TV News Story (includes video link) Ellensburg Daily Record Story (Jan. 18, 2007) Ellensburg Daily Record Story (Jan. 18, 2007) Yakima Herald-Republic Story (Jan. 19, 2007) Tacoma News Tribune Story (Jan. 19, 2007)
