Robert J. Surace (pronounced ,; born April 25, 1968) is an American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

coach. He is currently the head football coach at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, a position he had held since the 2010 season. Surace was the head football coach at

Western Connecticut State University Western Connecticut State University (WCSU and WestConn) is a public university in Danbury, Connecticut. It was founded in 1903 as a teacher's college and is part of the Connecticut State University System. WCSU consists of four schools: the Anc ...

from 2000 to 2001. He had worked as an assistant coach in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

(CFL) and the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL)

Early life

Surace was born on April 25, 1968, in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

, grew up in

Millville, New Jersey Millville is a city in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the city's population was 28,400,Millville Senior High School Millville Senior High School is a comprehensive community public high school located in Millville, in Cumberland County, New Jersey, United States, serving students in eleventh grade and twelfth grade as part of the Millville Public Schools. ...

, where his father, Tony Surace, was a longtime football and baseball coach. He attended

, where he played on the

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

from 1987 to 1989 as a

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

. In 1989, the

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...

named Surace to the All-Ivy team. He graduated in 1990. Surace's wife, Lisa, was a former soccer player at Princeton, and practiced

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

in Cincinnati. The couple have a son A.J, and a daughter Allison. His brother, Brian, was the

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of an American football or Canadian football team who is in charge of the team's offense. Generally, along with the defensive coordinator and the special teams coordinator, this coach re ...

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute () (RPI) is a private research university in Troy, New York, with an additional campus in Hartford, Connecticut. A third campus in Groton, Connecticut closed in 2018. RPI was established in 1824 by Stephen Van ...

.Millville native Bob Surace finds dream coaching job at Princeton
''

The Press of Atlantic City ''The Press of Atlantic City'' is the fourth-largest daily newspaper in New Jersey. Originally based in Pleasantville, it is the primary newspaper for southeastern New Jersey and the Jersey Shore. The newspaper designated market runs from Ware ...

'', October 13, 2010.

Coaching career

Surace began coaching in 1990 as the running backs coach at

Springfield College Springfield College is a private college in Springfield, Massachusetts. It confers undergraduate and graduate degrees. It is known as the birthplace of basketball because the sport was invented there in 1891 by Canadian-American instructor J ...

. While there, he earned a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in

sports management Sport management is the field of business dealing with sports and recreation. Sports management involves any combination of skills that correspond with planning, organizing, directing, controlling, budgeting, leading, or evaluating of any organiz ...

.Bob Surace Bio
, Princeton University, retrieved January 1, 2011. In 1993, he was the offensive line coach at the

Maine Maritime Academy Maine Maritime Academy (Maine Maritime or MMA) is a public college focused on maritime training and located in Castine, Maine. The academy was established by the 90th Maine Legislature on March 21, 1941. Unlike federal service academies, a congr ...

. In 1994, he was an assistant coach under

Forrest Gregg Alvis Forrest Gregg (October 18, 1933 – April 12, 2019) was an American professional American football, football player and coach. A Pro Football Hall of Fame Tackle (gridiron football position), offensive tackle for 16 seasons in the Nationa ...

for the

Shreveport Pirates The Shreveport Pirates were a Canadian Football League team, playing at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, in 1994 and 1995. Despite a relatively strong fan base, they were one of the least successful of the CFL's A ...

of the

. In 1995, he was the offensive line coach at

. In 1999, he became the

. In 2000, Surace was promoted to the head coach. In his second season, he led the Colonials to the

Freedom Football Conference The Freedom Football Conference (FFC) was a college athletic conference that competed in the NCAA's Division III. Member teams were located in New England and New York. It was formed in 1992 and disbanded after the 2003 season. As can be deduced ...

championship and the second round of the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Thir ...

Championship playoffs. His record at Western Connecticut State was 18–3.Princeton Hires Bengals Assistant Surace as Head Football Coach
''Bloomberg'', December 23, 2009. Surace then joined the staff of the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

in the

. From 2002 to 2003, he was an offensive staff assistant, and from 2004 to 2009, an assistant offensive line coach. Princeton hired Surace in December 2009, which made him the first alumnus as coach since

Bob Casciola Robert F. Casciola (born c. 1935) is an American former college football coach, National Basketball Association executive, banking executive, and broadcaster. He was the head coach at the University of Connecticut from 1971 to 1972 and at Princet ...

in 1977. In his first season, Princeton finished with a 1–9 record.Blaze's Patton picks Princeton
, ''The Daily News Journal'', December 23, 2010.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Princeton profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Surace, Bob 1968 births Living people American football centers Cincinnati Bengals coaches Maine Maritime Mariners football coaches Princeton Tigers football coaches Princeton Tigers football players Shreveport Pirates coaches Springfield Pride football coaches Western Connecticut State Colonials football coaches Millville Senior High School alumni Sportspeople from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Cumberland County, New Jersey People from Millville, New Jersey Coaches of American football from New Jersey Players of American football from New Jersey Players of American football from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania American people of Italian descent