Chris Creighton, who ranks fourth among all active NCAA Division III football coaches in career winning percentage, was named the 25^th head football coach at Drake University on Dec. 22, 2007. 

Entering the 2010 season, Drake has won 12 of its last 16 games covering a two-year stretch.  Picked to finish sixth in the preseason coaches poll, Creighton guided Drake to an 8-3 record in 2009, including a 6-2 second-place finish in the Pioneer Football League.

Drake matched its best nine-game start in history (8-1) in 2009, while riding a six-game winning streak.  Creighton has led Drake to a 14-8 record during his two-year tenure at the school.

Creighton served as head coach at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Ind., from 2001-07 where he constructed a 63-15 record with teams winning four North Coast Athletic Conference championships, while competing in three NCAA Division III playoffs.

“Coach Creighton is a proven winner, a man of strong character, and has a vision that will move Drake football to the next level,” said Drake athletic director Sandy Hatfield Clubb.

Creighton, 40, owns an overall record of 109-32 (.773 winning percentage) in 13 years as a college head coach including a 32-9 mark as head coach at Ottawa (Kan.) University from 1997-2000.

"I am absolutely thrilled about the opportunity to lead the Drake University football program,” said Creighton. “I am very attracted to Drake’s sense of family, its proud tradition, and the desire of both the team and the administration to become our absolute best."

During his last three years at Wabash, Creighton led the Little Giants to a 30-5 record including three straight league championships and appearances in the 2005 and 2007 NCAA Division III playoffs.

Wabash posted a 11-2 record this past fall, competing in the NCAA Division III playoffs while being ranked No. 8 in the final NCAA Division III coaches poll.  Wabash went 12-1 in 2002 and 11-1 in 2005, capping both seasons with appearances in the NCAA Division III playoffs.

As offensive coordinator at Wabash, Creighton’s teams averaged 35 points per game with the multiple offense producing the school’s all-time leading rusher and passer. Three starting quarterbacks received All-American honors.

Under Creighton, Wabash won conference championships in 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2007. He coached 83 all-conference players, including seven who earned conference player of the year honors, along with 13 All-Americans.  He was named the North Coast Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2002, 2005 and 2007, as well as the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 1997.

The Seattle, Wash. native produced one of the greatest single season turnarounds in NAIA history during his first year at Ottawa in 1997. He inherited a team that posted a 1-8 record the previous season, then finished 9-2 en route to capturing its first Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference title since 1972.  He also led Ottawa to a conference championship in 2000 along with appearances in the NAIA playoffs in 1997 and 2000.

Creighton served as offensive coordinator at Concordia (Ill.) from 1991-92 and Manchester (Ind.) from 1993-96 before becoming head coach at Ottawa.

As an All-American quarterback, Creighton led Kenyon (Ohio) College to its only North Coast Athletic Conference title in 1989. He was named the league’s player of the year after setting single-season conference records for passing yardage (2,843) and touchdowns (29).

He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kenyon College in 1991 and a master’s degree from Concordia (Ill.) University in 1993.

Chris and his wife, Heather, have two daughters, Hallie (five) and Kate (three), and a son Luke (two).

Coaching Experience

Year-By-Year Head Coaching Record

Career Record: 109-32 (.773 winning percentage)

Ottawa Record: 32-9 (.780 winning percentage)

Wabash Record: 63-15 (.807 winning percentage)

Drake Record:  14-8 (.636 winning percentage)