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| Eric Hehman | |
|---|---|
| Name | Eric Hehman |
| Occupation | American college football coach, former player |
| Alma mater | Taylor University; Ball State University (graduate studies) |
| Known for | Head coach at Taylor University football program; head coach at Tri-State University/Trine University |
Eric Hehman
Eric Hehman is an American college football coach and former collegiate quarterback and assistant coach noted for building programs at small liberal arts institutions. Hehman has been associated with multiple Midwest colleges and universities, developing offensive schemes and recruiting pipelines while earning recognition within the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference and regional coaching circles. His career connects institutions, conferences, and coaching networks across the Midwest United States and broader NCAA Division III and NAIA landscapes.
Hehman grew up in the Midwest and completed undergraduate studies at Taylor University, where he began his association with collegiate athletics. He later pursued graduate work at Ball State University, engaging with athletic administration and coaching coursework popular among aspiring collegiate coaches. During this formative period Hehman developed connections with coaches and programs within the Intercollegiate Athletic Association and regional conferences such as the Crossroads League and Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, which influenced his early professional trajectory.
As a player, Hehman was a collegiate quarterback at Taylor University, participating in competition against regional opponents from institutions like Hope College, Wabash College, DePauw University, Johns Hopkins University, and Capital University. His on-field experience included offensive leadership that mirrored schemes used by contemporary programs such as Indiana State University and Ball State University. The position group work and film study he engaged in at Taylor exposed him to coaching philosophies associated with coaches from programs like Northwestern University, Purdue University, University of Notre Dame, Ohio State University, and Michigan State University, whose offensive and quarterback tutelage informed his early coaching perspectives.
Hehman transitioned into coaching with assistant posts and positional responsibilities at a series of Midwest institutions. He served in roles that placed him in contact with staff and administrators from schools such as Bethel College (Indiana), Grace College, and Manchester University, before earning head coaching duties. Hehman became head coach at Tri-State University (later renamed Trine University), where he led the football program through conference play against teams including Albion College, Marian University (Indiana), Taylor University, Geneseo State, and Wisconsin-Whitewater. Subsequent appointments included the head coaching position at Taylor University, returning him to his alma mater to helm the program.
Throughout his tenure at these institutions Hehman navigated recruiting calendars that overlapped with regions represented by Indiana University Bloomington, Purdue University Fort Wayne, Ball State University, Butler University, and Valparaiso University, and he coordinated schedules involving matchups with programs from the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association, St. Joseph's College (Indiana), and the Ohio Athletic Conference. His administrative interactions involved athletic directors and conference offices associated with the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference, Crossroads League, and the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association.
Hehman’s coaching staff construction and mentorship drew from professional networks including coaches and coordinators linked to Boise State University, Louisville Cardinals, Cincinnati Bearcats, Western Michigan University, and smaller programs such as Wheaton College (Illinois), Olivet Nazarene University, and Anderson University (Indiana).
Hehman emphasized offensive balance, quarterback development, and situational preparation, adapting schemes analogous to those used at larger programs like University of Michigan, Ohio State University, Iowa State University, and Penn State University. His offensive approaches incorporated spread concepts and pro-style elements practiced at programs such as Texas Tech University, Oklahoma State University, Auburn University, and University of Wisconsin–Madison. Defensive game-planning under his staffs often mirrored tactics seen at institutions like Michigan State University, Notre Dame, Purdue University, and Ball State University when preparing against regional opponents.
Achievements in Hehman’s head coaching career included program turnarounds, conference competitiveness, and producing All-Conference selections who earned recognition from organizations and awards programs tied to the American Football Coaches Association, D3football.com, and regional sports media covering institutions like Trine University, Taylor University, Marian University (Indiana), Hope College, and Wabash College. His teams participated in conference championship races and regularly scheduled contests against peers from the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference and Crossroads League, contributing to sustained roster development and alumni engagement across the institutions he represented.
Hehman’s personal life has been tied to the communities around his coaching stops, including towns associated with Angola, Indiana, Upland, Indiana, and other Midwest college towns. His legacy includes mentorship of assistant coaches who moved into coordinator and head coaching roles at programs in the NCAA Division III and NAIA systems, and the establishment of recruiting networks that continued to serve the schools where he coached. Hehman’s career intersects with broader collegiate coaching lineages connected to coaches at Indiana University Bloomington, Ball State University, Purdue University, Notre Dame, and regional liberal arts colleges, reflecting a pattern of influence typical of successful Midwest coaching careers.
Category:American football coaches Category:College football coaches in the United States