Story courtesy Knox College
The last thing Andy Gibbons wants to be is a distraction.
With the retirement of long-time athletic trainer and occasional interim athletics director Scott Sunderland this summer, questions were bound to be thrown at Gibbons — currently the assistant athletics director for the fitness center and intramurals who began working in the Knox Athletics Department at the same time as Sunderland — about his future plans. Instead, the long-time Knox coach decided to get ahead of those questions and announced that he will retire following the 2025-26 academic year.
Reflecting on a 35-year career
“I’ve been very lucky,” stated Gibbons, 58. “Not many people in college athletics stay at one place for their career. I talked about it with my wife, Carla, and we just decided that 35 years is a long time and a good number.
“This is a new time in Knox Athletics with a lot of new staff, something I’m very excited about as it keeps me energized. But I think it will be good to have a new person in my role who has new ideas and can take the strength program even farther than I have. You don’t ever want to stay too long, and there are some other chapters in my life I want to live while I’m still healthy and young.”
Vice President and Director of Athletics Justin Newell said, “As we turn the page on Andy Gibbons’ final year, we want to recognize the quiet strength, deep loyalty, and unwavering heart he has brought to Knox. Andy has been more than a coach, more than a colleague. He’s been a steady presence, a mentor and a leader who has helped shape the lives of countless student-athletes and staff. He learned from those who came before him, both on the football field and in the athletic director’s chair, and carried those lessons forward with humility and purpose.”
Evolution from football to strength coaching
Gibbons, who was the Knox Head Football Coach for 14 seasons (1996-2009), has spent the past eight years as the head strength and conditioning coach for the Prairie Fire, developing strength programs for each of the various varsity teams while also overseeing the operations of the E. & L. Andrew Fitness Center. The biggest factor in his success in the role has been his ability to build relationships with all Knox student-athletes, not just the football players.
“Throughout my entire tenure here, my focus has always been the student-athletes, whether I was a football coach or a strength coach, that’s what I’ve been most interested in. I think somewhere along the line, someone recognized that about me and the value of the relationships I have with the athletes. I’ve also made sure I wasn’t some old school guy who didn’t keep up with the times. Each year I have learned, evolved and changed the programs as new and better methods came along. I owe that to the student-athletes, to help them strive to reach their potential.”
But how did a football player and graduate of Culver-Stockton College with a business degree end up working in the Knox Athletics Department as a football coach? Well, it wasn’t exactly a direct path.
After blowing out his ankle at the end of his junior year, he made every attempt to get back on the gridiron for the Wildcats, but the ankle just didn’t respond as needed. That led to Gibbons serving as a student assistant, which quickly turned into him coaching the defensive line when another coach left the program.
“I didn’t know what I was doing, and I was coaching my friends, the same people I’m hanging out with,” Gibbons recalled. “But during that fall, I realized that coaching football is what I wanted to do.”
Still, he had responsibilities after getting that diploma and was engaged to be married, so he followed the path of a businessman. But after the wedding, he quickly came to the realization that he had no interest in a business career and talked to Carla about following his passion.
Gibbons applied to Western Illinois for graduate school in sport management and began contacting coaches in the area. He even talked to the Leatherneck coaches, but the larger school atmosphere didn’t suit him.
A conversation with Randy Oberembt, the Knox head football coach at that time, was more to Gibbons’ liking. “I told him what I was thinking in terms of coaching football, and he said they never have enough coaches, that they could use some help at outside linebacker. I started as a volunteer coach, but I got the whole experience I was looking for. I met with [long-time athletics director] Harley Knosher as well, and I just felt so comfortable here with the small-school setting, like Culver-Stockton.
“They gave me the opportunity to coach and learn, and I got to recruit, too. I ended up not only coaching the season, but being here a lot in the off-season, all while taking classes at Western Illinois. We had a big recruiting class that year, and I was the primary recruiter on a number of those players. That kind of gave me confidence, and maybe also opened some eyes here.”
Upon completing graduate school, Gibbons was hired and became a full-time coach. In short order, he became the defensive coordinator, and when Oberembt departed after the 1995 season, Gibbons was promoted to head coach at the tender age of 29.
“Just in the right place at the right time,” as he described it. “But Harley took a huge chance by promoting me. We were coming off a good year and the program was in good shape. I owe my career to Randy. He taught me everything, as did Harley. Most of all, they showed me how to do things the right way, especially putting our athletes first with total care for them.”
In each of Gibbons’ first three years guiding the program, the team posted a winning record, overall and in conference play. In 2002, the Prairie Fire had a resurgence, going 5-4 in the Midwest League — including victories over Lake Forest and Illinois College — and 6-4 overall. That remains the last winning season for the program.
“We had success, especially in the early part of my career, but it got tougher as the years went on,” Gibbons admitted. “I thought I saw a light at the end of the tunnel. We had a heck of a recruiting class in 2009 and we had a lot of experience coming back, so I thought, ‘Here we go.’ But that season did not go well. That’s when I figured it was probably time for me to do something else, that the program needed something else.”
Gibbons approached athletics director and assistant football coach Chad Eisele about making a change. After discussion with Eisele and President Roger Taylor, it was decided that Eisele, who had a successful stint as the head coach at Lake Forest, would take over and Gibbons would serve as an assistant coach while also running the fitness center.
“My relationship with Chad was a big factor — I still consider him my best friend outside of my wife — as was the work I was doing with the student-athletes, in being able to make that swap. And lifting weights was really one of the three things I’ve been obsessed with all my life, the others being football and baseball. So, I was his assistant for three years, then stayed on when Damon Tomeo took over.”
But by 2017, he had been on the football staff for more than a quarter century, and Gibbons started contemplating his future. He saw a need for a dedicated strength coach to help out the other coaches, and the energy needed to coach football (and recruit) was splitting his focus.
“I went to Scott Sunderland and Lexie Vernon, who were the interim ADs at the time, and told them what I was thinking, that we needed a strength coach to help alleviate all the responsibilities the head coaches have in coaching and recruiting players, and do what was best for our athletes. In addition, I was ready and really needed a new challenge.”
With the blessing of President Theresa Amott and the interim ADs, Gibbons was able to keep his hands in football but put his focus on the weight room and developing strength programs for all the Prairie Fire teams. He still watched film and went out to some practices, even provided some help at football games for a few years. But he discovered that serving as the strength coach brought about even more rewarding relationships.
“I hadn’t ever really coached women before moving to strength full-time. Coaching them and creating so many new and lasting relationships in the weight room have been some of the most fulfilling parts of my career.”
“Students gravitate to Andy because they know he truly sees them,” Newell added. That’s why they chose him to speak at the Senior Toast in 2024, and why he’s been recognized time and again for his impact on this campus. We’re grateful for his legacy, for the way he has made this place better, and for the example he’s set. Thank you, Andy.”
When all is said and done, Gibbons couldn’t be more thankful for how things have turned out.
“It’s just been kind of a dream. Everything’s worked out and happened for the right reasons, and all along the way, I’m thankful Knox stayed loyal to me. For a lot of head coaches, you don’t really get to stay around. I’ve basically had three careers here, from assistant coach to head coach, back to assistant coach and then strength coach.”
As always with Gibbons, the truly special takeaways from his tenure are the relationships he has built.
“Not only have I been fortunate to develop meaningful relationships with the student-athletes, but I’ve also done that with so many people on the staff over the years. I think about our [football] head coach Aaron Willits as we recruited and coached him, and he started his coaching career here at Knox. Seeing a former player take on the head coaching role is a source of tremendous pride for me.”
“Andy is the epitome of Knox, just the ultimate people person,” Willits related. “He not only mentored me as a player but as a coach as well, seeing me as a coach and not just as someone who played for him. He also was instrumental in me coming back to Knox. I am just one of many people that have consulted with him as a student a and as a young adult beyond graduation. It’s difficult to think of what Knox will look like without him. I can only hope that I am able to pass along some of the lessons I learned from him to the students and in some way help his legacy live on.”
There were a pair of long-time associates on staff that Gibbons collaborated with on many occasions as well. “Scott Sunderland and [former head baseball coach] Jami Isaacson deserve special recognition since I worked with Scott my entire career and with Jami for 26 years. They have been great friends and confidants, so helpful and supportive!”
While Gibbons has had a big family at Knox to support him throughout his career, that isn’t the only family to have a tremendous impact on him.
“I’m thankful that Carla and I got to raise our five kids here, and one of the best things to happen was my son Charlie coming here after pretty much growing up on the sidelines. He developed into a good football and baseball player, as well as a leader on campus. I’m proud of all my kids, all of whom were or are being educated at different ACM (Associated Colleges of the Midwest) schools. Everything simply worked out just from working here at Knox.”
Transition to high school coaching in retirement
So, what are Gibbons’ retirement plans anyway? Retirement might not be the correct word for what he has his eye on …
“Most of all, I want more freedom for my family to be there and take care of them. That’s where it all begins. And there is something else I have been thinking about for the last five years that has become a goal in retirement but never had the chance to do — coach high school football. Not as a head coach, but as an assistant on defense. I actually will be helping at Rowva this fall a couple times a week and on Fridays when I can be there. Next year, I will be able to give it my full attention as an assistant and also do some subbing. I just think I can have an impact on the younger kids while also experiencing that high school ‘Friday Night Lights’ in football.”
Before he finds that newfound freedom, feel free to stop in the fitness center and thank Coach Gibbons for all his work through the years; he would be happy to chat. But please, don’t let him be a distraction from the work at hand.
“As this year begins and knowing that this is it, I am just so thankful for everything. There are just too many to actually thank right now, but I plan to as the year goes along. I love our athletes, and maybe the most fulfilling thing is all the relationships that have continued for all these years.”
