Mike Markuson (born June 15, 1961) is an American

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

coach. He was formerly the offensive line coach for

Jackson State Jackson State University (Jackson State or JSU) is a public historically black research university in Jackson, Mississippi. It is one of the largest HBCUs in the United States and the fourth largest university in Mississippi in terms of studen ...

and the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Fiel ...

of 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). Markuson was the

offensive line In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

coach at the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

from January to September 9, 2012.ESPN College Football: Reports: Badgers fire Mike Markuson
/ref>

Education

Markuson is a 1979 graduate of Farmington Senior High School in

Farmington, Minnesota Farmington is a city in Dakota County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 23,632 at the 2020 census. It is a part of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. History Settlers began arriving in Empire Township, in which Farmingto ...

. He earned his

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

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 ...

Hamline University Hamline University is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1854, Hamline is known for its emphasis on experiential learning, service, and social justice. The university is named after Bishop Leonidas Lent Hamline o ...

in 1983, and earned his

M.S. A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...

in athletic administration at

South Dakota State University South Dakota State University is a public land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest and most comprehensive university and the oldest continually-operating university in South Dakota. The ...

in 1986. Markuson also played football for Hamline from 1979 to 1982 at the

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

position.

Coaching experience

As an assistant coach, Markuson has coached on both the high school and college levels of football. He coached for his alma mater, Farmington High in 1983 as the defensive line coach. Overall, Markuson has coached at nine different colleges spread across the different division levels of

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 ...

football. In 1984, Markuson returned to

South Dakota State South Dakota State University is a public land-grant research university in Brookings, South Dakota. Founded in 1881, it is the state's largest and most comprehensive university and the oldest continually-operating university in South Dakota. The ...

where he coached the defensive line until 1985. Moving back to Hamline University in 1986, he spent a season there coaching the defensive line. In 1987,

Oklahoma State 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 ...

offered him a position as a graduate assistant coach which he accepted. After two seasons at Oklahoma State, Markuson had the opportunity to become a graduate assistant at one of college football's traditional powerhouses, Notre Dame. In his season with the

Fighting Irish The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are the athletic teams that represent the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish participate in 23 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate sports and in the NCAA's Division ...

, he was able to coach in the coveted

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in th ...

in January 1990. After spending three seasons as a graduate assistant coach,

Austin Peay State University Austin Peay State University () is a public university in Clarksville, Tennessee. Standing on a site occupied by a succession of educational institutions since 1845, the precursor of the university was established in 1927 and named for then-sitt ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

offered him the position of coaching the offensive line. He has coached the offensive line units ever since his move to Austin Peay. He spent only one season there, moving on to

Alabama A&M Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (Alabama A&M) is a public historically black land-grant university in Normal, Huntsville, Alabama. Founded in 1875, it took its present name in 1969. AAMU is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshal ...

in 1991. In 1992, he was granted the reigns as the offensive coordinator at Alabama A&M to add to his responsibilities of offensive line coach. Markuson moved on to

Murray State University Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper level and graduate courses in Paducah, H ...

under newly hired head coach

Houston Nutt Houston Dale Nutt Jr. (born October 14, 1957) is a former American football player and coach. He currently works for CBS Sports as a college football studio analyst. Previously, he served as the head football coach at Murray State University (19 ...

in 1993. After suffering two consecutive losing seasons at Murray State in 1993 and 1994, Nutt and Markuson turned the program around. From 1995 to 1996, the Racers posted a combined record of 22–3. In 1997, Nutt was hired as the head coach at

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a publ ...

. He decided to bring Markuson and Bobby Allen, the inside linebackers coach and defensive coordinator for Murray State, with him to

Boise, Idaho Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown are ...

. The Broncos finished the season with a 5–6 record. Nutt was hired as the head coach of the

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas student body voted to change the name of the school mascot (ori ...

in December 1997 and brought Markuson in to coach the offensive line. In 2003, he was also named the team's running game coordinator. Markuson coached in six post-season bowl games at Arkansas, including a

Florida Citrus Bowl Camping World Stadium is a stadium in Orlando, Florida, located in the West Lakes neighborhood of Downtown Orlando, west of new sports and entertainment facilities including the Amway Center, the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, an ...

(1999) and two

Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game that has been held annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its namesake stadium i ...

s (2000, 2002). Under Markuson's offensive line coaching, the Razorbacks led the Southeastern Conference in rushing offense for nearly five consecutive seasons. Markuson coached the Arkansas offensive line from 1998 until his departure to Ole Miss for the 2008 season. Markuson continued in his roles as offensive line coach and running game coordinator at Ole Miss until 2010 when he was promoted to co-offensive coordinator. Markuson debuted as the offensive line coach for the

Wisconsin Badgers The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin). They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivisi ...

in January 2012, but was fired on September 9, 2012 after just two games, including a 10–7 loss to the

Oregon State Beavers The Oregon State Beavers are the athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ( Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for c ...

. UTSA head coach

Larry Coker Larry Edward Coker (born June 23, 1948) is a former American football coach and player. He previously served as the head coach of the University of Miami and the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). Coker's 2001 Miami Hurricanes football ...

announced Monday February 23, 2015 that he has hired Mike Markuson as an assistant coach. He will tutor the program’s offensive linemen and his appointment is effective March 2, 2015. He was named the named offensive line coach of the

on April 11, 2016.

Personal life

Markuson has two children, Joy Noelle and Elliot Bryan, with his wife, Dottie (née Bryant).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Markuson, Mike 1961 births Living people American football defensive tackles Alabama A&M Bulldogs football coaches Arkansas Razorbacks football coaches Austin Peay Governors football coaches Boise State Broncos football coaches Colorado Buffaloes football coaches Eastern Illinois Panthers football coaches Hamilton Tiger-Cats coaches Hamline Pipers football coaches Hamline Pipers football players Jackson State Tigers football coaches Murray State Racers football coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coaches Ole Miss Rebels football coaches Oklahoma State Cowboys football coaches South Dakota State Jackrabbits football coaches UTSA Roadrunners football coaches Wisconsin Badgers football coaches High school football coaches in Minnesota People from Farmington, Minnesota Sportspeople from Dakota County, Minnesota Coaches of American football from Minnesota Players of American football from Minnesota