Donald William (Don) Rominger Jr. (born February 27, 1940) is a former university administrator and

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

and

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

coach. He served as the head football coach at

McPherson College McPherson College is a private college associated with the Church of the Brethren and located in McPherson, Kansas. It was chartered in 1887 and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. History During their 1887 Annual Meeting, the Ch ...

McPherson, Kansas McPherson () is a city in and the county seat of McPherson County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 14,082. The city is named after Union General James Birdseye McPherson, a Civil War general. It i ...

for five seasons, from 1973 to 1977, and for two years as head track coach and athletics director, compiling a football coaching record of 11–34–2. His 1976 McPherson mark of 5 wins and 4 losses was the College's first winning football season in 18 years. Rominger began his career as a teacher in a two room school near Tecumseh, Oklahoma, followed by a six year career as a high school track and football coach. He was in 1966 the track coach at Miami, Oklahoma, where he coached 1969 Heisman Trophy winner Steve Owens. From 1968 to 1971, Rominger was a member of the faculty at

Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College (NEO) is a public community college in Miami, Oklahoma. Established as the Miami School of Mines in 1919, NEO has an enrollment of approximately two thousand students. The Golden Norsemen is the school mascot. ...

Miami, Oklahoma Miami ( ) is a city in and county seat of Ottawa County, Oklahoma, United States, founded in 1891. Lead and zinc mining were established by 1918, causing the area's economy to boom. This area was part of Indian Territory. Miami is the capital of ...

, where was also head track coach and an assistant football coach. Donald W. (Don) Rominger, Jr. was born in

Shawnee, Oklahoma Shawnee ( sac, Shânîheki) is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 29,857 in 2010, a 4.9 percent increase from the figure of 28,692 in 2000. The city is part of the Oklahoma Cit ...

, the son of Donald W. and Winnie Townsend Rominger. He moved with his family in 1951 to a farm east of

Tecumseh, Oklahoma Tecumseh ( sac, Takamithîheki) is a city in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 6,457 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, a 5.9 percent increase from the figure of 6,098 in 20 ...

and graduated from Tecumseh High School in 1958. He earned an undergraduate degree at

Oklahoma Baptist University Oklahoma Baptist University (OBU) is a private Baptist university in Shawnee, Oklahoma. It was established in 1910 under the original name of The Baptist University of Oklahoma. OBU is owned and was founded by the Baptist General Convention of O ...

, a master's degree from the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

, and, in 1976, a Ph.D. in history from

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. Rominger in 2000 was instrumental for beginning the football program at East Texas Baptist University while serving as vice president for academic affairs. He previously had established the fund raising arm for athletics in 1985 and founded the ETBU athletic hall of fame in 1988. In 2021, Rominger was inducted into the university's athletic hall of fame. Rominger in 2008 was the Republican Party candidate for State Senate in his district.

Head coaching record

References

1940 births Living people McPherson Bulldogs football coaches Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Golden Norsemen football coaches Oklahoma Baptist University alumni Oklahoma Republicans Oklahoma State University alumni University of Oklahoma alumni People from Shawnee, Oklahoma Coaches of American football from Oklahoma {{1970s-collegefootball-coach-stub