Local Edmond: UCO Names Adam Dorrel Head Football Coach

The University of Central Oklahoma athletic department announced Sunday Adam Dorrel as its new head football coach.
 
“Today is a great day for the Bronchos,” UCO Director of Athletics Stan Wagnon said. “It’s a privilege to announce Adam Dorrel as our head football coach. There was overwhelming interest in this opening, which is a testament to the Broncho Football brand created over time by all those who have been a part of our tradition-rich program.
 
“The search committee and I worked to identify and interview some of the best candidates available,” Wagnon continued. “The committee unanimously supported this selection, and we’re excited for the Broncho Football team, our UCO campus and the entire Edmond community to see the greatness we’ve found in Adam, his wife Erin and twin daughters Allie and Sam.”

An introductory press conference is being planned for Wednesday, Dec. 8 at UCO. More details will be announced soon.

“I am very excited and thankful for the opportunity to lead the UCO football program,” Dorrel said. “UCO is a great university and Edmond is a great place to live and raise a family. Factor that with the great high school football that is played in the great state of Oklahoma, it was a very attractive job.”
 
Dorrel comes to Central after spending the last five seasons at Abilene Christian. He spent several years at Northwest Missouri prior to that, serving as the team’s offensive line coach from 2004-06, then offensive coordinator from 2007-10, before becoming head football coach from 2011-16.
 
As an assistant coach, he helped lead Northwest to five consecutive NCAA Division II championship appearances and helped the team win its third national title in 2009. As head coach, he led the team to a 76-8 record and three more national titles, winning it all in 2013, 2015, and 2016. 
 
In each of the three national championship seasons as head coach, Dorrel led Northwest to 15-0 records and was named AFCA National Coach of the Year. He ended his time there on a 30-game win streak. Dorrel led Northwest to a 57-5 record in the MIAA in his six seasons with the 76-8 overall record during that time.
 
Dorrel went south to Texas in 2016 to lead Division I FCS, Abilene Christian. There he led the team to its first winning season as a DI institution in 2018. He coached several all-conference award winners, academic all-conference and all-american selections, and he led ACU to the 25th-ranked offense in the country during the 2018 season.  
 
Dorrel is from Maryville, Missouri. He graduated high school there in 1993 before staying in town to attend Northwest. He earned All-American honors during his playing days and was a three-year captain for the Bearcats.
 
Dorrel graduated from Northwest Missouri State University in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education. He earned his master’s degree in the same area in 2000.
 
Dorrel spent the 2000 season at Dakota State and was at William Jewell from 2001-03. At both stops he served as Offensive Coordinator and o-line coach. In 2004, he returned to Northwest to be the offensive line coach and remained there through the 2016 season.
 
Central Oklahoma welcomes Dorrel as its 14th head football coach. With 644 all-time victories, a mark that is fourth-most in Division II history, the Bronchos have one of the most successful programs in the country.
 
UCO will open the 2022 season in September with more new changes than just the coach. Central announced earlier this year a stadium expansion project that will improve on Chad Richison Stadium’s standing as one of the nicest facilities in the country.