New Beginning for Pace Football; Andrew Rondeau Named Head Football Coach

PLEASANTVILLE, NY- Pace University Director of Athletics Mark Brown has announced the hiring of Andrew Rondeau as the head coach for the Pace Football program effective immediately. Rondeau is the seventh head coach in the history of the football program.

"Today we start a new era of Pace Football history. I am so pleased to be able to welcome Coach Rondeau to Pace. He has a resume rich with both Division I and Division II experience and fully embraces the role a quality football program plays on a college campus. His energy, enthusiasm and work ethic is exactly what our football program needs," said Brown.

Rondeau comes to Pace from the College of the Holy Cross where he served as the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach the past two seasons. At Holy Cross, he was also responsible for organizing community service initiatives for the football team as well as assisting with recruiting.

Prior to Holy Cross, Rondeau was part of restarting the football program at Old Dominion University where he was the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 2007-11. During his time with the Monarchs, Rondeau helped lead the team to an overall record of 27-8 in his final three seasons, with the school earning its first-ever bid to the NCAA FCS Playoffs in 2011. Four players from his defense earned All-Colonial Athletic Association honors during the 2011 campaign, including CAA Defensive Player of the Year Ronnie Cameron. Old Dominion also ranked second in the CAA in both quarterback sacks and takeaways that season, while standing third in the conference in rushing defense. In 2010, Rondeau's defense ranked 11th in the nation in tackles for loss and 19th in quarterback sacks. In the first season of varsity play in 2009, Rondeau's defense ranked eighth in the country in takeaways. His first two seasons at Old Dominion (2007 and 2008) were spent building the program from the ground up, prior to the team's first season of varsity competition in 2009.

Prior to Old Dominion, Rondeau had stops at the University of Maine, University of Buffalo, University of Tennessee-Martin, North Dakota State University, University of Pittsburgh and Northeastern University.

"It is with great pleasure and enthusiasm that I accept the position of head football coach at Pace University," said Coach Rondeau. "Based on the leadership of Mark Brown in the athletic department and the master plan for the Pleasantville Campus it is clearly an exciting and new time at Pace. I am thrilled to do my part and lead this football program to new heights. I can't wait to meet our current players and see what they are all about as well as begin recruiting new players. Together we will find a way to get it done. I cannot completely express in words how excited the Rondeau family is to become a part of the Pace University family."

Rondeau earned his bachelor's degree in English from Syracuse in 1991. He and his wife, Tiffany, have two sons (Ryan and Jack) and two daughters (Alison and Kiley).

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About Pace Athletics: Pace University is an NCAA Division II member of the Northeast-10 Conference that sponsors 12 intercollegiate sports and will be adding women's lacrosse and field hockey as varsity sports in 2015. Pace also sponsors a Spirit Squad which includes Dance and Cheerleading teams. In the Fall 2013 semester, 160 of Pace student-athletes achieved a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. Pace has launched a three-year Master Plan which will result in the consolidation of the Briarcliff campus at Pleasantville and includes a wide range of important improvements that will significantly expand and upgrade the athletics facilities. Pace Field, previously home to the football program will transition to a multi-purpose field in 2015 and will include a synthetic surface with lights, 2,500 seats, a new press box along with the construction of a new field house.

About Pace University: Pace University is a comprehensive, independent University with campuses in New York City and Westchester County. Nearly 13,000 students are enrolled in undergraduate and graduate degree programs in the Lubin School of Business, Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems, School of Education, School of Law and College of Health Professions. http://www.pace.edu. The Pace Pleasantville campus is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.

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Pace University – Hired Andrew Rondeau as Head Football Coach