KEARNEY – Former Nebraska assistant coach Ryan Held has been hired as head football coach at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, Director of Athletics Marc Bauer announced today.
UNK will formally introduce Held as its 19th coach in team history at an 11 a.m. news conference Jan. 3 at UNK’s Health and Sports Center.
“I can’t tell you how fired up I am to be the next head football coach at UNK. The opportunity to return to Nebraska and lead the Loper football program, which has tremendous tradition and is committed to winning championships, is something I can’t wait to take on,” said Held. “The MIAA is one of the toughest football conferences in the country, and UNK is right there at the top with a strong foundation in place.”
Held, 48, spent the past season as interim head coach and offensive coordinator at NCAA Division I University of North Alabama. Before that, he was an assistant/running backs coach and recruiting coordinator at Nebraska (2018-21) and assistant/running backs coach at the University of Central Florida (2016-17). He was twice named one of the nation’s top 25 recruiters by Rivals.com while at Nebraska.
A coaching veteran with 13 years of head coaching experience, Held climbed the coaching ladder as a junior college, NCAA Division II and NAIA head coach before joining the Division I ranks. He had head coaching stints at junior colleges Northeastern Oklahoma A&M and Highland Community College, Division II Southwestern Oklahoma State and Oklahoma Panhandle State, and NAIA Peru State College.
Held’s other coaching stops include Butler Community College and the University of Tennessee, where he was a defensive graduate assistant in 1998-99, helping the Volunteers win the 1998 national championship.
Bauer chose Held following a nationwide search. He replaces Josh Lynn, who was UNK’s head coach the past six seasons.
At Nebraska, Held’s running backs produced impressive results in his first season in 2018. The group helped the Huskers rush for more than 2,500 yards, as Nebraska boasted the third-most-improved rushing attack in the country, averaging 209 yards per game.
His 2022 team at Northern Alabama was among the ASUN Conference leaders in multiple offensive categories, with running back ShunDerrick Powell’s 1,508 rushing yards the fourth-best total in the nation.
He said his recruiting strategy at UNK will be to heavily recruit Nebraska high schools and players from across the Midwest and Florida, including junior colleges in Iowa, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
“We will recruit impact players from winning programs who fill immediate needs – smart, tough, physical athletes who love to compete,” he said. “I look forward to working with all the great Nebraska coaches. We want Nebraska high school players to be Lopers. That will be paramount to our success.”
