Steve Ryan- Morningside University Head Coach

The Coach

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Steve Ryan has guided the Mustangs to three National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics national titles and 13 Great Plains Athletic Conference Championships, recording the most football coaching victories and the highest victory rate in Morningside history. Ryan has made the Mustangs postseason regulars, reaching at least the semifinals 10 times. Ryan was inducted into the NAIA hall of fame following the 2022 season. Ryan is a four-time NAIA and American Football Coaches Association National Coach of the Year. He earned his first such accolade in 2012 when the Mustangs went 13-1 and appeared in the national championship for the first time; his second occurred in 2018 as the Maroon rolled through an unbeaten campaign en route to the school’s first national title, his third was earned in 2019 following Morningside’s second successive unbeaten campaign and national championship, and his fourth was gained following an unbeaten 2021 and third national championship. He’s also a member of the AFCA’s Board of Directors. Ryan is an 11-time GPAC Coach of the Year, receiving the honor in 2004, 2005, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. He received AFCA NAIA Region 4 Coach of the Year recognition in 2005, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019,  2020, and 2021 and was the 2004 NAIA Football.net National Coach of the Year. Ryan’s Mustangs made their first appearance on the NAIA national stage in 2004 when they posted an 8-2 record, achieved a No. 12 national ranking, and secured their first-ever berth in the NAIA National Championship Series. Ryan is a 1989 graduate of Wheaton College in Illinois, where he was a four-year letter winner and a three-year starter as a linebacker. He received his master’s degree from National-Louis University in 1997. Steve and his six children: Madison, Kali, Kelsi, Jenna, Gabrielle, and William, reside in Sioux City.