Ken Niumatalolo
Encyclopedia
Ken Niumatalolo is an American football
coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach at the United States Naval Academy
, a position he has held since the 2007 season. Niumatalolo played college football at the University of Hawaii
. As a quarterback
he led the then-Rainbows to their first postseason bowl game
in 1989. Niumatalolo is the second person of Polynesian descent
to be named head coach of a NCAA
Division I FBS college football
program and the first Samoan
collegiate head coach on any level. He is also a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as Mormons
.
at Radford High School
in Honolulu
, graduating in 1983. He went on to play at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa
, eventually becoming the Rainbows (now the Warriors) starting quarterback after serving a two-year religious mission to the Spanish speaking people of the Ventura California area. During his time with the Rainbows, he ran an option-oriented offense under the direction of Paul Johnson
, who was then the offensive coordinator
.
's Tim Tebow
. On December 12, 2009 at the annual Army-Navy football game, Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs
reclaimed the record with 24 touchdowns in the 2009 season.
. While there, he called the plays and also worked with the kickoff return unit.
Niumatalolo was promoted to head football coach at the Naval Academy on December 8, 2007 http://www.navysports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/niumatalolo_ken00.html by Naval Academy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk after Paul Johnson
departed for Georgia Tech
. Niumatalolo, is the 38th head football coach in Naval Academy history. On January 7, 2009, Niumatalolo was given a contract extension, although terms of the contract, or the length of the extension, were not released.
Niumatalolo resides in Annapolis with his family which consists of his wife, Barbara, daughter, Alexcia, and sons, Va'a and Ali'i.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach at the United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...
, a position he has held since the 2007 season. Niumatalolo played college football at the University of Hawaii
Hawaii Warriors football
The Hawaii Warriors football team represents the University of Hawaii at Mānoa in NCAA Division I FBS college football. The team, which is currently coached by Greg McMackin, is part of the Western Athletic Conference until 2012, when the team joins the Mountain West Conference.The Hawaii Warriors...
. As a quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
he led the then-Rainbows to their first postseason bowl game
Bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...
in 1989. Niumatalolo is the second person of Polynesian descent
Pacific Islander American
Pacific Islander Americans, also known as Oceanian Americans, are residents of the United States with original ancestry from Oceania. They represent the smallest racial group counted in the United States census of 2000. They numbered 874,000 people or 0.3 percent of the United States population...
to be named head coach of a NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
Division I FBS college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
program and the first Samoan
Samoans
The Samoan people are a Polynesian ethnic group of the Samoan Islands, sharing genetics, language, history and culture. Due to colonialism, the home islands are politically and geographically divided between the country of Samoa, official name Independent State of Samoa ; and American Samoa, an...
collegiate head coach on any level. He is also a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as Mormons
Mormons
The Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, a religion started by Joseph Smith during the American Second Great Awakening. A vast majority of Mormons are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while a minority are members of other independent churches....
.
Before coaching
Niumatalolo was a star in both football and basketballBasketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
at Radford High School
Admiral Arthur W. Radford High School
Admiral Arthur W. Radford High School, known as Radford High School, is a public high school in the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, adjacent to the Halawa CDP.-Admiral Arthur W. Radford :...
in Honolulu
Honolulu, Hawaii
Honolulu is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii. Honolulu is the southernmost major U.S. city. Although the name "Honolulu" refers to the urban area on the southeastern shore of the island of Oahu, the city and county government are consolidated as the City and...
, graduating in 1983. He went on to play at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa
University of Hawaii at Manoa
The University of Hawaii at Mānoa is a public, co-educational university and is the flagship campus of the greater University of Hawaii system...
, eventually becoming the Rainbows (now the Warriors) starting quarterback after serving a two-year religious mission to the Spanish speaking people of the Ventura California area. During his time with the Rainbows, he ran an option-oriented offense under the direction of Paul Johnson
Paul Johnson (American football coach)
Paul Johnson is an American football coach. He is currently the head coach at the Georgia Institute of Technology, a position he has held since the 2008 season. Previously, Johnson served as the head coach at Georgia Southern University from 1997 to 2001 and at the United States Naval Academy...
, who was then the offensive coordinator
Offensive coordinator
An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of a gridiron football team who is in charge of the offense. Generally, along with his defensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
.
Hawaii
Niumatalolo stayed on at Hawaii after his graduation, taking a position as a graduate assistant under Johnson. By 1992, he had been elevated to a full-time assistant position.Navy
When Johnson left Hawaii to become the offensive coordinator at Navy in 1995, he took Niumatalolo with him as his running backs coach. The following season, he was elevated to offensive coordinator after Johnson left to take the head coaching job at Georgia Southern. Notably, while offensive coordinator at Navy, he tutored quarterback Chris McCoy, who set a Division I-A record in 1997 for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with 20, a record that was broken in 2007 by Florida2007 Florida Gators football team
The 2007 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2007 college football season...
's Tim Tebow
Tim Tebow
Timothy Richard "Tim" Tebow is an American football player who is currently the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League . He was drafted by the Broncos as the 25th overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft...
. On December 12, 2009 at the annual Army-Navy football game, Navy quarterback Ricky Dobbs
Ricky Dobbs
Ricky Dobbs is a United States Navy officer and former college football quarterback for the United States Naval Academy. During the 2009 season he broke the single season college football record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with 27.-High school:Dobbs was known as "the Mayor" by...
reclaimed the record with 24 touchdowns in the 2009 season.
UNLV
In 1999, Niumatalolo left Annapolis to become an assistant at UNLVUNLV Rebels football
The UNLV Rebels football program is a college football team that represents the University of Nevada, Las Vegas . The team is currently a member of the Mountain West Conference, which is a Division I Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association...
. While there, he called the plays and also worked with the kickoff return unit.
Back in Annapolis
Niumatalolo returned to Navy in 2002 when he was hired by Johnson, who had just taken over the head coaching job at Annapolis, as his offensive line coach. Niumatalolo's work helped Navy establish a rushing attack that led NCAA Division I-A/FBS in yards per game in four of his first five seasons since he returned to Annapolis, including an unprecedented three consecutive seasons leading the nation in that category (2004 through 2006). In 2008, Navy averaged 292.4 yards per game on the ground, leading the nation for the fourth straight year in the category. This rushing game has helped Navy football reach a level of success it had not seen in decades:- Navy went 45-29 under Johnson, including 43-19 since 2003.
- The Midshipmen began a streak of bowl gameBowl gameIn North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...
appearances in 2003 that continues today. - In 2004, the Midshipmen had their first 10-win season in nearly a century.
- They won the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy, the annual football trophy contested by Navy, ArmyArmy Black Knights footballThe Army Black Knights football program represents the United States Military Academy. Army was recognized as the national champions in 1944, 1945 and 1946....
, and Air ForceAir Force Falcons footballThe Air Force Falcons are a college football team from the United States Air Force Academy, located just outside of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the NCAA Division I and the Mountain West Conference.-Style:...
, from 2003 until 2009. The 2006 first-class midshipmen (seniors, Class of 2007) went 8–0 against the other academies during their careers at Navy. The Class of 2009 repeated this achievement during the 2008 season with the 7th straight victory over Army and the 6th straight victory over Air Force. - Perhaps most important to Annapolis graduates, the Midshipmen have won nine straight Army–Navy Games for the first time ever. This also is the longest winning streak for either side in the rivalry.
- Highlights in 2008 included an upset in Winston-Salem over #16 Wake Forest2008 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football teamThe 2008 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team represented Wake Forest University during the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football season. It was Wake Forest's 56th season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference .The Demon Deacons...
, 24-17, the Mids' first victory over a ranked team in 23 years, and a 34-0 shutout victory of Army.
Niumatalolo was promoted to head football coach at the Naval Academy on December 8, 2007 http://www.navysports.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/niumatalolo_ken00.html by Naval Academy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk after Paul Johnson
Paul Johnson (American football coach)
Paul Johnson is an American football coach. He is currently the head coach at the Georgia Institute of Technology, a position he has held since the 2008 season. Previously, Johnson served as the head coach at Georgia Southern University from 1997 to 2001 and at the United States Naval Academy...
departed for Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represents the Georgia Institute of Technology in collegiate level football. While the team is officially designated as the Yellow Jackets, it is also referred to as the Ramblin' Wreck. The Yellow Jackets are a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
. Niumatalolo, is the 38th head football coach in Naval Academy history. On January 7, 2009, Niumatalolo was given a contract extension, although terms of the contract, or the length of the extension, were not released.
Niumatalolo resides in Annapolis with his family which consists of his wife, Barbara, daughter, Alexcia, and sons, Va'a and Ali'i.