Chris Petersen
Encyclopedia
Chris Petersen is an American football
coach and former player in the United States. He is currently the head football coach at Boise State University
, a position he has held since the 2006 season. Peterson has guided the Broncos to two BCS
bowl wins, in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl
and the 2010 Fiesta Bowl
. He is the first and only two-time winner of the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award, which he won in 2006 and 2009. He also won the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award
in 2010.
for the Sacramento City College
Panthers, and at UC Davis
from 1983 to 1986. He earned a bachelor's degree
in psychology in 1988 and a master's degree
in education from UC Davis.
under Hall of Fame
coach Jim Sochor
. In 1989 he became the receivers coach for the varsity, departing in 1992 to become the quarterbacks coach at Pittsburgh
. He moved back west in 1993 to coach the quarterbacks at Portland State
under Tim Walsh; the Vikings advanced to the Division II playoffs in both 1993 and 1994. Peterson moved over to Oregon
in 1995
as the receivers coach, and spent six years as an assistant for the Ducks
under head coach Mike Bellotti
. In 2001
, he became the offensive coordinator
at Boise State
under first-year head coach Dan Hawkins.
. Sophomore tailback Ian Johnson
said about the transition, "We trusted him and knew he was going to take care of us. We knew he was a great person. He was going to recruit people just like himself. We waited for him to get everybody here and he got in the perfect people." Petersen had served as offensive coordinator at Boise State for five seasons and was twice nominated for the Broyles Award
, given to the nation's best assistant coach.
bowl game berth. He became the fourth rookie head coach to lead a team to a BCS bowl game. Boise State was the only undefeated team in Division I FBS for the 2006 season.
The Broncos defeated Big 12
Champion Oklahoma
in the Fiesta Bowl
as only the second non-BCS conference school to play in a BCS bowl, after Utah
in 2004
. In the 43–42 overtime win, Petersen drew particular attention for his bold play calling at the end of the game: A 50-yard hook-and-lateral
play on 4th-and-18 described as "stunning" for a tying touchdown with just 7 seconds left in regulation, an option pass (off a direct snap to a wide receiver
) on 4th-and-2 in overtime, and a "Statue of Liberty
" misdirection play for the two-point conversion to win the game in overtime. Petersen stated, "We were trying to get to it earlier, to tell you the truth. We needed a play like that to get it over with."
On January 1, 2010, after leading Boise State to another undefeated regular season, Petersen was rewarded with a new five-year contract extension, with other terms of the contract to be announced later. On April 22, 2010, the State Board of Education approved the new contract, which will pay Petersen $8 million over the course of the five-year deal, or $1.6 million per year. The contract also includes automatic one-year extensions to the contract each time Petersen wins at least eight regular season games.
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
coach and former player in the United States. He is currently the head football coach at Boise State University
Boise State University
Boise State University is a public university located in Boise, Idaho. Originally founded in 1932 as a junior college by the Episcopal Church, the university became an independent institution in 1934, and has been awarding baccalaureate and master degrees since 1965...
, a position he has held since the 2006 season. Peterson has guided the Broncos to two BCS
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
bowl wins, in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl
2007 Fiesta Bowl
The 2007 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl was a college football bowl game played as part of the 2006–2007 Bowl Championship Series of the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season...
and the 2010 Fiesta Bowl
2010 Fiesta Bowl
The 2010 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl game was a post-season college football bowl game between the #4 TCU Horned Frogs, champions of the Mountain West Conference, and the #6 Boise State Broncos, champions of the Western Athletic Conference. The game was played Monday, January 4, 2010, at University of...
. He is the first and only two-time winner of the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award, which he won in 2006 and 2009. He also won the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award
Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award
The Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award is an annual college football award given to the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision head coach whose team excels on the field, in the classroom, and in the community. The award is named for Bobby Dodd, longtime head football coach at Georgia Tech and was...
in 2010.
Playing career and education
Petersen played quarterbackQuarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
for the Sacramento City College
Sacramento City College
Sacramento City College is a two-year community college located in Sacramento, California. SCC is part of the Los Rios Community College District and had an enrollment of 25,307 in 2009. Sacramento City College is officially accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges , offering...
Panthers, and at UC Davis
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
from 1983 to 1986. He earned a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in psychology in 1988 and a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in education from UC Davis.
Assistant coach
Petersen began his coaching career in 1987 as the head freshman coach at UC DavisUniversity of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
under Hall of Fame
College Football Hall of Fame
The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum devoted to college football. Located in South Bend, Indiana, it is connected to a convention center and situated in the city's renovated downtown district, two miles south of the University of Notre Dame campus. It is slated to move...
coach Jim Sochor
Jim Sochor
Jim Sochor is a former American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the University of California, Davis from 1970 to 1988 during which time compiling a record of 156–41–5 and won 18 consecutive conference championships,...
. In 1989 he became the receivers coach for the varsity, departing in 1992 to become the quarterbacks coach at Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Panthers football
Pittsburgh Panthers football is the intercollegiate football team of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Traditionally the most popular sport at the university, Pitt football has played at the highest level of American college football...
. He moved back west in 1993 to coach the quarterbacks at Portland State
Portland State Vikings
Portland State Vikings is the nickname of the NCAA-affiliated, intercollegiate athletic teams representing Portland State University of Portland, Oregon...
under Tim Walsh; the Vikings advanced to the Division II playoffs in both 1993 and 1994. Peterson moved over to Oregon
Oregon Ducks football
The Oregon Ducks football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of Oregon located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the Football Bowl Subdivision and is a member of the Pacific-12 Conference. Known as the Ducks, the...
in 1995
1995 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 1995 NCAA Division I-A football season was the first year of the Bowl Alliance and was a relatively calm year compared to the early 1990s.Tom Osborne led Nebraska to its second straight national title with a victory over Florida in the Fiesta Bowl....
as the receivers coach, and spent six years as an assistant for the Ducks
Oregon Ducks football
The Oregon Ducks football program is the intercollegiate American football team for the University of Oregon located in the U.S. state of Oregon. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the Football Bowl Subdivision and is a member of the Pacific-12 Conference. Known as the Ducks, the...
under head coach Mike Bellotti
Mike Bellotti
Robert Michael "Mike" Bellotti is a college football analyst for ESPN and ABC. A native of California, he was hired as football offensive coordinator by the University of Oregon in 1989. From 1995 to 2009, he was the head coach of the Oregon Ducks football team...
. In 2001
2001 Boise State Broncos football team
The 2001 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University in the 2001 college football season. The Broncos competed in the Western Athletic Conference and played their home games at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho. The Broncos were led by first-year head coach Dan Hawkins.The...
, he became the offensive coordinator
Offensive coordinator
An offensive coordinator is a member of the coaching staff of a gridiron football team who is in charge of the offense. Generally, along with his defensive counterpart, he represents the second level of command structure after the head coach...
at Boise State
Boise State Broncos football
This page discusses the Boise State football program. For more Boise State athletics, see Boise State Broncos.The Boise State Broncos football program represents Boise State University in college football and compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of Division I as a member of the Mountain West...
under first-year head coach Dan Hawkins.
Head coach
Petersen was promoted to head coach at Boise State on December 16, 2005, succeeding Hawkins, who left for ColoradoColorado Buffaloes football
The Colorado Buffaloes football program represents the University of Colorado at Boulder in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The team is currently a member of the Pacific-12 Conference, having previously been a charter member of the Big 12 Conference. Before joining the Big 12,...
. Sophomore tailback Ian Johnson
Ian Johnson (American football)
-Minnesota Vikings:He ran the fastest 40 yard dash time for a running back at the 2009 NFL Combine with a 4.46. He was signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Vikings. In Week 4 of the Preseason Johnson ran for 2 touchdowns in 17 carries against the Dallas Cowboys...
said about the transition, "We trusted him and knew he was going to take care of us. We knew he was a great person. He was going to recruit people just like himself. We waited for him to get everybody here and he got in the perfect people." Petersen had served as offensive coordinator at Boise State for five seasons and was twice nominated for the Broyles Award
Broyles Award
The Broyles Award is an annual award given to honor the best assistant coach in college football. First awarded in 1996, it was named after former University of Arkansas men's athletic director Frank Broyles...
, given to the nation's best assistant coach.
2007 Fiesta Bowl
In his first year as head coach, Petersen led the Broncos to an undefeated regular season and the program's first ever BCSBowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
bowl game berth. He became the fourth rookie head coach to lead a team to a BCS bowl game. Boise State was the only undefeated team in Division I FBS for the 2006 season.
The Broncos defeated Big 12
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
Champion Oklahoma
2006 Oklahoma Sooners football team
The 2006 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the college football season of 2006-2007, winning the Big 12 Conference Championship...
in the Fiesta Bowl
Fiesta Bowl
The Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Frito-Lay and named with their Tostitos brand, is a United States college football bowl game played annually at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Between its origination in 1971 and 2006, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil...
as only the second non-BCS conference school to play in a BCS bowl, after Utah
2004 Utah Utes football team
The 2004 Utah Utes football team represented the University of Utah in the college football season of 2004–2005. This team was the original 'BCS Buster', meaning, this was the first time that a team from a non-BCS conference was invited to play in one of the BCS bowl games. The team, coached by 2nd...
in 2004
2004 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with several undefeated teams vying for a spot in the national title game, triggering controversy. In the 2003 season, no team finished the regular season unbeaten, and five teams finished the season with one loss...
. In the 43–42 overtime win, Petersen drew particular attention for his bold play calling at the end of the game: A 50-yard hook-and-lateral
Hook and lateral play (American football)
The hook and lateral or hook and ladder is a trick play in American or Canadian football. It starts with the hook, which is where a wide receiver runs a predetermined distance, usually 10 yards down the field, and along the sideline, and "hooks in" towards the center of the field to receive a...
play on 4th-and-18 described as "stunning" for a tying touchdown with just 7 seconds left in regulation, an option pass (off a direct snap to a wide receiver
Wide receiver
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. Only players in the backfield or the ends on the line are eligible to catch a forward pass. The two players who begin play at the ends of the offensive line are eligible...
) on 4th-and-2 in overtime, and a "Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty play
The Statue of Liberty is a trick play in American football, occasionally seen in high school football, college football and the NFL.-Execution of the play:...
" misdirection play for the two-point conversion to win the game in overtime. Petersen stated, "We were trying to get to it earlier, to tell you the truth. We needed a play like that to get it over with."
Improved contract
On February 22, 2007, the Idaho State Board of Education approved a new contract for Petersen, paying him $4.25 million for five years, or $850,000 per year. Petersen’s salary will be paid mostly by revenue from the Football Coaches Club, the Bronco Athletic Association booster club and media and public appearances. State-appropriated funds will cover $150,000 per year.On January 1, 2010, after leading Boise State to another undefeated regular season, Petersen was rewarded with a new five-year contract extension, with other terms of the contract to be announced later. On April 22, 2010, the State Board of Education approved the new contract, which will pay Petersen $8 million over the course of the five-year deal, or $1.6 million per year. The contract also includes automatic one-year extensions to the contract each time Petersen wins at least eight regular season games.
Personal life
Petersen and his wife, Barbara, are the parents of two sons, Jack and Sam. Ron Petersen, Chris Petersen's dad, still lives in Yuba City.Honors
- Inducted into the Cal Aggie Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997
- Paul "Bear" Bryant Award in 2006 and 2009
- Western Athletic ConferenceWestern Athletic ConferenceThe Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...
Coach of the Year in 2008 - Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year AwardBobby Dodd Coach of the Year AwardThe Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award is an annual college football award given to the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision head coach whose team excels on the field, in the classroom, and in the community. The award is named for Bobby Dodd, longtime head football coach at Georgia Tech and was...
in 2010