Ron Ernst (born October 5, 1957) is an

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 wi ...

coach. He served as the head football coach at Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin from 1991 to 2022, compiling a record of 193–114. Ernst won his 100th game during the 2006 season and won more games than any other coach in program history. Ernst also served as Ripon's head men's golf coach, associate professor in the Department of Exercise Science and assistant athletic director.

Early life and education

A native of

Hastings, Nebraska Hastings is a city and the county seat of Adams County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 25,152 at the 2020 census. It is known as the town where Kool-Aid was invented by Edwin Perkins in 1927, and celebrates that event with the Ko ...

, Ernst is a 1980 graduate of

Nebraska Wesleyan University Nebraska Wesleyan University (NWU) is a private Methodist-affiliated university in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was founded in 1887 by Nebraska Methodists. As of 2017, it has approximately 2,100 students including 1,500 full-time students and 300 ...

where he received his bachelor's degree in social science and physical education. He earned his master's degree in physical education and athletic administration at the

University of Northern Colorado The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) is a public university in Greeley, Colorado. The university was founded in 1889 as the State Normal School of Colorado and has a long history in teacher education. The institution has officially changed ...

in 1990. While attending Nebraska Wesleyan, Ernst was a four-year letterman in football, a three-year letterman in track and earned one letter in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

Coaching career

Ernst began his coaching career at the high school level. He served as the head football coach at three different high schools in

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

and

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

, winning a conference championship at each school. From 1980 to 1981 Ernst was the head football coach at Osceola High School in

Osceola, Nebraska Osceola is a city and the county seat of Polk County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 880 as of the 2010 census. History According to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the first settlers of Osceola, which included the families of R ...

. By his second season, the Bulldogs had won a conference championship and were rated third in the region. From 1982 to 1985 Ernst was the head football coach at Fort Calhoun High School in

Fort Calhoun, Nebraska Fort Calhoun is a city in Washington County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 908 at the 2010 census. The city includes Fort Atkinson, the first fort built west of the Missouri River. History Fort Calhoun was platted in 1855. It ...

. Ernst took over a program that had never had a winning season in the school's history. By his third season, the Pioneers had won a conference championship, qualified for the state playoffs and were ranked eighth in the state classification C-2. From 1986 to 1988, Ernst was the head football coach at

Greeley Central High School Greeley Central High School is the oldest of three public high schools in Greeley, Colorado, United States in Greeley-Evans School District 6. It was founded in 1895 as Greeley High School. History Formerly known as Greeley High, Greeley Centra ...

Greeley, Colorado Greeley is the List of municipalities in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality city that is the county seat and the List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous municipality of Weld County, Colorado, Weld County, Colorado, ...

. Ernst took over a program that had not had a winning season in more than 20 years. By his second year, the Wildcats were Northern Conference champions, finishing the season in the state semifinal playoffs. In 1987, Ernst was named Colorado AAA Coach of the Year by ''

The Denver Post ''The Denver Post'' is a daily newspaper and website published in Denver, Colorado. As of June 2022, it has an average print circulation of 57,265. In 2016, its website received roughly six million monthly unique visitors generating more than 13 ...

''. Ernst served as the defensive line coach at the

under Joe Glenn from 1989 to 1990. The

Bears Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...

qualified for the

NCAA Division II Football Championship The NCAA Division II Football Championship is an American college football tournament played annually to determine a champion at the NCAA Division II level. It was first held in 1973, as a single-elimination tournament with eight teams. The tourna ...

playoffs in 1990.

Ripon

Ernst hit a milestone in 2006, winning his 100th career game. In 2006, Ernst was inducted into the Ripon College Hall of Fame, and in March 2009 he was inducted into the

Wisconsin Football Coaches Association The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association is an association of American football coaches on all levels within the state of Wisconsin. An annual clinic of members is held in Madison, Wisconsin to promote the sport, primarily at the high school lev ...

Hall of Fame. In 2015, Ernst became the all-time winningest coach in both

Midwest Conference The Midwest Conference (MWC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in the Midwestern United States in the states of Illinois, Iowa, and Wisconsin. The Midwest Conference was ...

and Ripon College history. Ernst has led the Red Hawks to 26 winning seasons, three division titles (1995, 1996 and 1997) in the now-defunct North Division and three MWC titles (1996, 2001, and 2022). He was first named the Midwest Conference Coach of the Year in 1996 when he led the team to a record nine-win season. He also has been named the NCAA Division III Region 5 Coach of the Year in 1995, and the Wisconsin Private College Coach of the Year from the

in 2001, 2008, and 2010. Most recently, he was named as both the 2022 Midwest Conference Coach of the Year and the 2022 Wisconsin Private College Coach of the Year after leading the Red Hawks to a 9-1 record. Ernst retired after the 2022 season.

Personal life

Ernst resides in Ripon, Wisconsin with his wife, Janet. They have three sons: Tim, Bryan, and John.

Head coaching record

College

References

External links

Ripon profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ernst, Ron 1957 births Living people Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves baseball players Nebraska Wesleyan Prairie Wolves football players Northern Colorado Bears football coaches Ripon Red Hawks football coaches Ripon College (Wisconsin) faculty College golf coaches in the United States College men's track and field athletes in the United States High school football coaches in Colorado High school football coaches in Nebraska University of Northern Colorado alumni People from Hastings, Nebraska Coaches of American football from Nebraska Players of American football from Nebraska