Joe Reich
Head Coach 
E-mail Coach Reich: reich@wingate.edu
Call Coach Reich: 704-233-8197

As a result of Wingate’s 34-26 victory at Fayetteville State August 25, 2007, Bulldog head coach Joe Reich became the all-time winningest football coach in the school’s senior college history. In seven seasons, Reich has posted a 42-34 overall record. 

Reich is only the fourth head coach in school history. Thanks to the leadership of Reich and his staff, Wingate’s 18-member class of 2008 compiled the most wins (28) of any senior college group in Bulldog history.

Wingate finished the 2007 season 7-4 overall and 2-4 in the SAC. The Bulldogs were ranked in the top 25 of the NCAA Division II for five separate weeks last year, charting as high as number 18 in the AFCA poll. All-Americans Kenwin Cummings (N.Y. Jets) and Chris Conklin (Carolina) signed NFL free agent contracts during the summer of 2008.

Cornerback David Jones was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL draft (145th overall selection). Jones signed a three-year contract in June. He finished the 2007 NFL season with the Cincinnati Bengals. A 2007 Hula Bowl participant, Jones was a D2Football.com and AFCA All-American his senior season. Wingate currently has five players in professional football. In addition to aforementioned trio, Donald Brown and John Bowman are playing in the Canadian Football League.

In 2006, Wingate placed a school-record 10 players on the All-South Atlantic Conference first and second teams. Wingate equaled its school record for senior college wins in a season, compiling an 8-3 overall mark. Wingate’s five SAC wins set a new school record.

When Reich and his staff arrived in 2000, the team had completed a 1-10 season under the previous regime. The Bulldogs compiled an 8-3 overall record in both 2004 and 2006. Reich was named SAC Coach of the Year in 2004.

Academics are very important to Reich and his staff. In 2006, senior defensive end Frank Marino was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® football first team (college division), selected by CoSIDA. Marino is the first Wingate football student-athlete to receive Academic All-America® laurels. In 2007, both offensive linemen Greg Keziah and Cam LeGrand were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District III football first team. Keziah is a three-time All-District honoree.

Wingate is making noise on the national scene, as the Bulldogs were ranked in both the AFCA and D2Football.com polls at various times during the 2007 and 2006 seasons. Wingate was ranked in the top 20 of the NCAA Division II for three separate weeks in 2004, charting as high as number 13 in various polls.

The 44-year-old Reich spent eight years as an assistant coach at the University of Buffalo. Prior to Buffalo, he was an assistant coach at his alma mater Gettysburg College and a graduate assistant coach at Georgia Tech under Bobby Ross.

Reich was the defensive coordinator, punt block and return unit coach at Buffalo during Buffalo’s transition from Division I-AA to Division I. His Buffalo defense recorded the school’s first shutout in 10 years during the 1999 season.

During the 1996 season, Buffalo achieved its first-ever national ranking in The Sports Network Top 25 poll. The Bulls were ranked no. 25 for two consecutive weeks. His 1996 punt block unit had 15 blocked, partially blocked or no attempt punts. Reich witnessed two transitions at Buffalo, as he was very instrumental in Buffalo’s move from NCAA Division III to NCAA Division I-AA.

During his time at Gettysburg College, he coached five players who earned All-Centennial Conference or All-Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference honors. As the graduate assistant coach at Georgia Tech, he worked under former University of Maryland and Detroit Lions head coach Bobby Ross as well as 1999 American Football Coaches Association Assistant Coach of the Year Ralph Friedgen.

Reich played offensive line at Gettysburg from 1984-87, earning a B.A. degree in Mathematics in 1987. He has graduate credits toward an M.A. in Athletic Administration from the United States Sports Academy and credits toward an M.A. in Psychology from Georgia Tech.

He played high school football at Cedar Crest High School in Lebanon, Pa. His father was a head coach at Lebanon High School and Lebanon Valley College. Reich and his wife Deirdre have a son (Shane) and two daughters (Colleen and Lindsey).