A 16-year coaching veteran, including a stint on the coaching staff at perennial national power Grand Valley State for two seasons, Brad Swensen begins his fifth season as a collegiate coach in 2015-16, while serving as the running backs and fullbacks coach for the Braves.
Having spent 12 years in the state of Washington prep ranks, Swensen served on the coaching staff at Grand Valley State and was integral in helping the Lakers compile a 16-6 mark over the last two seasons. During that span, Grand Valley State possessed one of the nation’s more potent offenses, including 2012 when the Lakers boasted the nation’s 13th-best total offense (474.5 yards/game).
Swensen jumped into the coaching world as an assistant coach at Moses Lake (Wash.) High School from 1999-02 where he helped pace the Chiefs to a trio of state playoff appearances. Success would follow him to Othello (Wash.) High School from 2003-10 where he attained a vast experience of coaching duties, including a three-year span as a defensive coordinator for the Huskies.
His impressive resume at Othello includes three Central Washington Athletic Conference (CWAC) Defensive Players of the Year, while his stalwart defensive units also led the CWAC in total defense, rushing defense and pass defense in each of his three seasons as defensive play caller.
A Ephrata, Wash., native, Swensen earned his Associate’s Degree from Big Bend Community College in 1996, while earning his bachelor’s degree in history education from Central Washington in 2002. He would later go on to earn his master’s degree in physical education from Ball State in 2013.
THE SWENSEN FILE
Coaching Experience
1999-02: Moses Lake (Wash.) HS (Defensive Backs)
2003-10: Othello (Wash.) HS (Defensive Coordinator)
2011-13: Grand Valley State, Graduate Assistant (Offensive Tackles/Tight Ends)
2013-Present: UNC Pembroke (Running Backs/Fullbacks)
Education
Associate's degree (Big Bend CC, 1996); Bachelor's degree in history education (Central Washington, 2002); Master's degree in physical education (Ball State, 2013)
