Head Coach
Offensive Coordinator
Chris Boden
Defensive Coordinator Special Teams
Richard Sweeney
Offensive Line
Recruiting Coordinator
Ben Barnes
Defensive Line
Ricky Coon
Graduate Assistants
Running Backs
Linebackers
Student Assistants
Asst. Defensive Line
Maia Tupou
Wide Receivers
Casey Veenhof
Football Operations
Alysa Haugen
Head Coach Chris Boden
Chris Boden became Northern State University’s 26th Head Football Coach in the program’s 100-year+ history on March 30, 2005.
In Boden's first year he lead the Wolves to a 6-5 overall mark and a 5-2 record in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference, good for third place.
Boden came to Northern State after one year as the offensive coordinator at Texas A&M University-Commerce and eight seasons at Valdosta State University (GA).
At Texas A&M Commerce Boden helped improve the Lions from one win in 2003 to four wins in 2004 with help from an offense that ranked #11 in the nation in passing offense. The Lions were also fifth in the nation in turnover margin after turning the ball over only twelve times all season.
In 1996 at Valdosta State Boden was the recruiting coordinator, director of football operations and coached quarterbacks/wide receivers. From 1997-2003 he coached the offensive backfield. He helped the Blazers to four Gulf South Conference (GSC) Championships and four NCAA Playoff appearances, as well as the 2002 National Championship Game. He also coached two GSC Offensive Players of the Year: 1996 Quarterback Lance Funderburk and 2002 Running back Aaron Jenkins.
Prior to going to Valdosta, Boden was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for Urbana University (Ohio) in 1994 and 1995. He was also a member of the Central Michigan University coaching staff from 1991-1993 working with the defensive secondary and serving as video coordinator.
Boden is a 1990 graduate of Saginaw Valley State University (MI), and he earned his Master’s degree in 1994 from Central Michigan University.
Boden and his wife, Jennifer, have two children, Lynn (13) and Ty (11).
Richard Sweeney
Assistant Head Coach
Defensive Coordinator / Special Teams Coordinator
Coach Sweeney is in his second year at Northern State. Prior to NSU he served as the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology defensive coordinator for two seasons. His previous stops included Western Washington University in 1987 & 2001, St. Mary of the Plains from 1988 to 1991, Texas A&M Kingsville in 1992, Western State (CO) in 1993-2000 and Southwest Texas State in 2002.
Sweeney was a defensive back at the University of Santa Clara where he received a BA degree in English. He earned his Masters Degree in Secondary Education Administration from Western Washington University.
Sweeney and his wife, Karen, live in Aberdeen, S.D.
Ben Barnes joins the Wolves as the offensive line coach during the 2006 season. Barnes, a native of Denham Springs , La., spent the previous two years with Southeastern Louisiana University as the Lions’ tight ends coach following the completion of his eligibility in 2003.
Barnes was one of three seniors at SLU on the initial 2003 squad and helped the Lions to a 5-7 mark in their first season of football in 18 years.
A first-team All-District 4-5A selection at Denham Springs High School, Barnes was a member of the Nicholls State football team for two seasons before concluding his career at SLU.
Ricky Coon takes over as the defensive line coach for the 2006 for the Wolves. Coon, a native of Wichita, Kan., was previously at Bethel College ( Kan.) as the defensive line coach and head strength coach. Prior to Bethel he was the defensive coordinator and strength coach at Wichita South High School.
Coon played one season at Dodge City Community College before transferring to Bethel College for his final three years. At Bethel he was a two-time All-Conference defensive tackle and participated in the 2002 National All-Stars Bowl in Orlando, Fla. Coon also has playing experience with the Wichita Stealth (Arena 2) and with the Wichita Aviators (APFL).
Ricky and his wife Amanda have been married since June of 2005. They have a daughter, Taryn, and are expecting another in September of 2006.
Maia Tupou makes the transition from defensive line coach to linebackers coach this season. Tupou is a 2002 NSU transfer from Sacramento City College, where he was the 1995 team MVP and league offensive MVP at running back.
At NSU, Tupou played as an inside linebacker, where he racked up 108 tackles in 21 games over his two years.
Tupou, a native of Elverta, Calif. is majoring in Fitness Management with a coaching minor at NSU. He currently resides in Aberdeen with his six siblings and his two nieces.
Casey Veenhof
Student Assistant / Wide Recievers
Casey Veenhof is a student assistant with the Wolves in charge of wide receivers. Veenhof is a 1995 graduate of Macomb High School in Macomb, Ill. He attended Joliet Junior College where he was an All-American baseball player in 1997 and also played football. From there he went to Huron University where he was a quarterback for the football team in 1998 and 2000. In the 1998 season they made the NAIA national semifinals and the quarterfinals in 2000. Veenhof then played two years of football with the Rapid City Red Dogs and has just completed his fourth year with the Sioux Falls Storm. In 2004 he was named All-League as a receiver and in 2005-06 the Storm won their second consecutive United Indoor League Championship. Veenhof is also the Storm's career leader in touchdown receptions.
He is married to NSU’s assistant volleyball coach Amy Veenhof.
Donn Grandpre
Graduate Assistant/Defensive Line
Donn Grandpre is a Graduate Assistant with the Wolves and serves as the Assistant Defensive Line Coach. Grandpre is a 1981 graduate of NSU with a BS in Secondary Education, with a double major of History/Social Science and an HPER minor. Donn is currently pursing a Masters in Education from NSU.
Grandpre comes to the Wolves with over 20 years of active military service with the United States Army and the South Dakota Army National Guard. He is a native of Conde, SD and has four children.
Doug Hazen joins the Northern State football staff as a graduate assistant and is in charge of working with the strong safeties, also known as a Liz/Rip coach. Hazen is a graduate of Carroll College in Waukesha, Wisc., earning a degree in mathematics and a secondary education minor. While attending Carrol College, Hazen was a four-year starter and letterwinner as a linebacker. He was a 2005 All- Midwest Conference selection, a three-time Academic All Conference Selection, and a 2005 team captain.
Doug is a native of Waupaca, Wisconsin. He is currently working toward a Master's Degree in Educational Studies.
Brent Stanek
Graduate Assistant
Brent Stanek is a first year graduate assistant for the NSU Wolves working with the Offensive Line. Brent played for NSU during his 5 years as an undergrad at Offensive Line and Fullback. He finished his undergraduate degree in Elementary Education with minors in Social Studies, Coaching, and Science and has decided to pursue a Masters Degree in Health and Physical Education at Northern State University.
David Thompson
Graduate Assistant
Coach Thompson is in his first year at NSU and serves as the Running Backs coach for the Wolves. Prior to coming to Northern, Coach Thompson was the Offensive Line coach at Summit Academy in western Pennsylvania. He also served as the Offensive Line coach at Pikeville College (KY) and Wide Receivers Coach at Fort Scott Community College (KS).
Thompson attended California University of PA where he both played football and served as a student coach. A back injury sidelined him from his junior and senior seasons, at which time Thompson took over as the Running Backs Coach. Originally from Pittsburgh, PA Thompson graduated from California University of PA and is working on his Master's in Health and Physical Education at Northern.
Alysa Haugen
Graduate Assistant / Director of Football Operations
Alysa Haugen takes over the Director of Football Operations duties for 2005. The Edmore, N.D. native graduated from NSU in the summer of 2005 with a degree in Secondary Education in the area of Social Sciences and a minor in Coaching. Haugen competed in track & field at NSU and was NSIC Discus Champions in 2002 and NSIC All-Conference in discus in 2003 and 2004. She was also a Scholar Athlete in 2004. Haugen was then a student assistant coach for NSU Track & Field during the 2004-05 season. Haugen is currently pursuing a Master’s in Physical Education and Coaching at NSU.
Derrick Budig
Strength and Conditioning Coach
Northern State strength & conditioning coach Derik Budig has propelled Wolves' athletics to new heights thanks to his comprehensive strength program that has been implemented into the NSU athletic system.
Budig, a Yankton, SD native, joined the Northern staff in 2002. He earned his Master's of Science Degree in Kinesiology from the University of Texas, at El Paso (UTEP) in 2005 after working as a graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach. He has also served as a strength and conditioning consultant for Olympic track and field athletes in El Paso. Prior to his time at UTEP, Budig was an intern for the National Football League's Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the area of strength and conditioning.
Budig has also had success on the football field where he was a four-year starter and two-year team captain for Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D.
Budig is in charge of developing and coordinating programs which assist student/athletes in developing overall physical strength and conditioning at NSU. He is the founder and director of The Wolves Challenge, a speed, strength, and conditioning camp. In addition, Budig also organizes the weight room for all of Northern's athletic programs and is the sponsor for NSU's Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
Budig lives in Aberdeen with his wife Amanda and his daughter Ella, born in April 2005. They are expecting another baby in March.
Northern State University (located in Aberdeen, SD) is an NCAA Division II institution and a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC).
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