Northern Iowa University

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa University of Northern Iowa President Mark Nook and Director of Athletics Megan Franklin announced Tuesday that Todd Stepsis has accepted the head coaching position at UNI Football. Stepsis joins the Panthers after a six-year stint as head coach at Drake University. He also served as Drake's offensive coordinator for the past three seasons.

The Shelby, Ohio native led the Bulldogs to back-to-back appearances in the FCS Playoffs after winning back-to-back Pioneer Football League championships. Drake compiled a 16-7 record over that two-year span in 2023-24, including a 15-1 mark in conference play. Stepsis earned Pioneer Football League Coach of the Year honors for the second consecutive year in 2024.

Franklin confirmed that Stepsis has agreed to the terms of a five-year contract. He will be formally introduced to the UNI community at a press conference soon. Details about that event at the McLeod Center will be shared when it is completed. Coach Stepsis' introductory press conference will be streamed live on the UNI Athletics YouTube channel.

Drake started the 2024 season with a 35-32 OT win at Eastern Washington and later built a six-game winning streak midseason, including a 19-0 shutout at home to Marist, followed by a 22-19 win at perennial Pioneer Football. League power St. Thomas. The Bulldogs clinched a conference title and another spot in the FCS Playoffs with a 49-10 win over Stetson. In total, Drake held six opponents to under 20 points during the 2024 campaign. Meanwhile, DL Finn Claypool was named a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award for the second straight season. That honor is given annually to the nation's best defensive player in the FCS. Claypool was a unanimous first-team All-PFL selection and finished the season with 17.5 tackles for loss, 10.0 sacks and 10 QB hurries to go along with a fumble recovery and a forced fumble .

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In addition to Claypool, five other Drake players earned first-team all-conference accolades in 2024. QB Luke Bailey and OL Bennet Krebs represented the Bulldogs on offense, while LB Stephen Adamski and K Shane Dunning and LS Brett Weising rounded out the Drake contingent. .

“Cheryl and I look forward to cheering on Coach Stepsis and the Panthers under his leadership,” said UNI President Mark Nook. “We are pleased to welcome Coach Stepsis and his family to the Cedar Valley. Coach Stepsis has established an exemplary record of helping young men and football programs develop and grow during his previous coaching stops. We hope that he and his family will call the University of Northern Iowa and Cedar Valley home for many years. We wish Todd and his family all the best as we begin this journey together!

After opening the 2023 season with a non-conference schedule that included games at North Dakota and a neutral site game against South Dakota State, the Bulldogs reeled off eight straight wins to finish the regular season with an 8-3 mark. That record secured Drake's first-ever berth in the FCS Playoffs and secured the school's first Pioneer Football League championship since 2012. Stepsis was named the unanimous choice for Pioneer Football League Coach of the Year honors, making him the first Drake football coach who deserved that. award since 2004. Meanwhile, Claypool earned PFL Defensive Player of the Year honors and Dunning was named PFL Special Teams Player of the Year.

“This is an exciting day for UNI Football players, alumni, fans and donors as we announce the hiring of head coach Todd Stepsis,” Franklin said. “Todd is a mentor to men. His winning culture is based on cultivating the very best from the team's brotherhood. Coach Stepsis has been a winner from his playing days to his position as head coach. His experience as both an attacking and defensive midfielder coordinator gives him a unique edge in the head coaching role.

“Todd is the absolute right leader for the next era of men in the UNI locker room and on the coaching staff, and he will embrace our legendary alumni,” Franklin continued. “Todd's vision to recruit and mentor men who lead on the field, on campus and in the community will result in winning championships and earning degrees for men who serve their families, professions and communities. Join me and welcome Todd, Angie, Addison and Avery, Zander and Zoe to the UNI Panther family.

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“On behalf of Angie and our family, we are extremely grateful to President Nook and Megan for providing us with this wonderful opportunity at the University of Northern Iowa,” said Stepsis. “I have great appreciation for UNI Football's winning tradition, as well as the litany of respected and highly successful head coaches who have filled this role.

“As someone who has lived in Iowa for the past decade and recruited throughout the Midwest, I know the stellar reputation the University of Northern Iowa has as an academic institution and as an athletic department,” Stepsis continued. “We will look to live up to the championship legacy and field teams that all UNI students and alumni can be proud of. Angie and I look forward to raising our family in a community like Cedar Falls. We can't wait to get there to meet the team, the support staff and the fans. We're going to have a lot of fun together in the UNI-Dome!”

Stepsis was named FCS Region 4 Coach of the Year in 2023. His team allowed just 12.1 ppg in conference play, powered by Claypool, who finished the campaign with 19.0 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks, five forced fumbles and two pass breakups. Claypool ranked second among FCS defensemen in sacks and fifth in tackles for loss. A year earlier, Claypool was named PFL Freshman Defensive Player of the Year.

Stepsis was named Drake's head coach on December 21, 2018 after serving as the Bulldogs' defensive coordinator for five seasons. In his first season at the helm, Drake ranked second in the league with 21 all-conference honorees. The Bulldogs also placed three student-athletes on the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team, earning the best mark among all NCAA Division I football programs.

As defensive coordinator, Stepsis built the Drake defense into one of the nation's top units and coached a total of 42 all-conference selections, including the program's all-time leading tackler and 2018 Pioneer Football League Defensive Player of the Year, DL Nathan Clayberg. During that 2018 campaign, Stepsis' defense ranked ninth among FCS squads in scoring defense (19.1 ppg), ninth in total defense (296.0 ypg), sixth in rushing defense (96, 8 ypg), 10th in interceptions (17) and 10th in tackles for loss (8.1 per game), while scoring three defensive TDs. DB Will Warner led the nation with 223 interception return yards and finished second in the nation with a school-record eight interceptions.

In 2017, Stepsis' defensive unit led the PFL in total defense (335.3 ypg), pass defense (199.7 ypg) and first downs allowed (18.0 per game) while finishing second in the conference with 27.0 to fail.

Stepsis joined the Drake staff as defensive coordinator in 2014 after six seasons in the same role at NCAA Division II power Saginaw Valley State. During his tenure with that program, the Cardinals produced a 44-23 record, three straight division titles and three NCAA playoff berths. In all, he coached 37 all-conference defensive performers at Saginaw Valley State.

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Before joining Saginaw Valley State, he coached eight seasons at NCAA Division III Capital University in Bexley, Ohio. During that span, the program compiled a 57-20 record. Capital earned three consecutive NCAA Division III playoff berths between 2005 and 2007, advancing to the quarterfinals in both 2005 and 2006. He began his coaching career at Otterbein University, where he coached the conference's top-ranked pass defense and led the program to its peak. first winning season in almost twenty years.

Stepsis graduated magna cum laude from Ashland University in 1999, where he was a four-year member of the football team, with a degree in special education. He also earned a master's degree from Ashland in sports education. He and his wife, Angie, have two daughters, Addison and Avery. He is also the father of a son, Zander, and a daughter, Zoe.

STEPSIS'S HEAD COACHING RECORD
Year general conference postseason

2019 6-5 6-2
2020 2-3 2-3
2021 2-9 1-7
2022 3-8 3-5
2023 8-4 8-0 FCS Playoffs First Round
2024 8-3 7-1 FCS Playoffs First Round
Totals 29-32 27-18

STEPSIS' COACHING CAREER

2025 University of Northern Iowa (head coach)
2019-24 Drake University (head coach)
2014-18 Drake University (Defensive Coordinator)
2008-13 Saginaw Valley State (defensive coordinator)
2000–2008 Capital University (assistant coach)
1999 Otterbein University (assistant coach)
1995–1998 Ashland University (player)