Funk Joins Akron Football Staff

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Cathy Bongiovi [[email protected] / 330-972-6106] January 22, 2015 FOR TRANSACTIONS: University of Akron named Darrell Funk as an assistant football coach. Funk Joins Akron Football Staff AKRON, Ohio — Darrell Funk, a 28-year veteran of collegiate coaching, has been named an assistant football coach at the University of Akron, head coach Terry Bowden announced on Thursday. Funk will serve as the offensive line coach and offensive run game coordinator. His hiring is pending approval by the University's Board of Trustees. “I am extremely excited to have Darrell join our staff here at the University of Akron,” Bowden said. “He is one of the top offensive line coaches in the country and will add a wealth of experience to our staff. Just as importantly, Darrell is a man of high character, and he will fit in nicely with the family atmosphere that we believe in here at Akron." “I’m excited for the opportunity to join Coach Bowden and the staff at Akron,” Funk said. “I’m looking forward to getting started.” Funk joins the Zips after serving as the offensive line coach at the University of Michigan for the last four seasons. His lines have produced the Big Ten Rimington-Pace Offensive Lineman of the Year in three of the last four years. Center David Molk won the award in 2011, while Taylor Lewan earned the honor in 2012 and 2013. Molk, who in 2011 received consensus All- America recognition, also earned Rimington Trophy honors as the nation's top center, while Lewan became UM’s first two-time All-American since Jake Long in 2006-07 while also being named a semi-finalist for the Rotary-Lombardi award. Funk's lines at Michigan produced three 1,000-yard rushers, including Denard Robinson and Fitzgerald Toussaint in 2011, who became UM's first pair of 1,000-yard rushers since 1975. The Wolverines, who finished 11-2 and earned a Sugar Bowl victory that season, ranked second in the Big Ten in rushing offense (221.8 yards per game) and third in total offense (404.7 ypg), while ranking third in sacks allowed. In 2012, the line helped a Wolverines’ offense that averaged 383.1 yards and 29.8 points per game, including 183.8 rushing yards per game, while in 2013, it helped UM average 373.5 yards and 32.2 points per game. Prior to joining the Wolverines in 2011, Funk served under Brady Hoke at both San Diego State (2009-10) and Ball State (2008), coaching the offensive line. In 2010, Funk's line at San Diego State finished sixth nationally in fewest sacks allowed, while Ball State ranked 10th in 2008. Funk helped the Aztecs finish the 2010 season ranked 12th nationally in passing offense, averaging just over 295 yards per game, and 16th in total offense (456.69 ypg). In his lone year at Ball State, he helped the Cardinals to a 12-2 record, the MAC West Division title and a trip to the GMAC Bowl in Mobile, Ala. A Fort Collins, Colo., native and Colorado State alumnus, Funk spent five seasons with the Rams under head coach Sonny Lubick (2003-07), including the final four working with the offensive line. He coached CSU's special teams and tight ends his first season in 2003, after a one-year stint at Northern Illinois as tight ends coach. He also made stops as a fulltime assistant at Rhode Island (1998-2001), Mesa State College (1993- 97), and Muskingum College (1990-92). Funk was a three-year starter at Colorado State from 1983-86, playing on both the offensive and defensive line and at tight end. He earned a bachelor's degree in social sciences from Colorado State in 1988 and a master's degree in athletic administration from Illinois in 1990. Funk and his wife, Teresa, have two sons, Tyler and Dustin, and one daughter, Courtney. Akron, which finished the 2014 season at 5-7 overall, opens the 2015 season at Oklahoma on Sept. 5. The Zips begin spring practice on March 16. – AKRON ZIPS – .

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