Football

Greg Etter finished his fifth season as the Concordia University Wisconsin football head coach in 2012. Under his leadership the program has earned three second place finishes and a third place finish in the Northern Athletics Conference. In five years under his direction, the Falcons have an overall conference record of 22-13. His CUW teams have produced 59 All-NAC selections, one all-region selection and an All-American selection.

In 2012 CUW posted its best season yet under Etter, going 7-3, including a 6-1 record in the NAC. CUW placed second in the conference and ended the season on a four-game winning streak.

The 2011 season saw a CUW defense finish the year ranked No. 1 in the country in pass defense, allowing 122.6 yards per game.

Since his arrival, the CUW football program has grown to over 130 participants. Etter places a strong emphasis on academics, which has produced a team GPA of 3.0. Overall, 85 players have been earned All-NAC Scholar Athlete honors. The program has also been involved with various community service projects, including the Mequon Young Life Program, Longario Family Housing Project, Canned Food Drive, Dance for Diabetes, Read Across America, volunteering for the Cedarburg Education Association and working with local Youth Football Organizations.

Most recently the football team started the “May Madness” 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament. The tournament is played the Saturday before finals week and is made up of two divisions: men’s and co-ed. Proceeds from the first event were used to build a monument, located near the south end zone, to honor Military Veterans. The 2012 tournament's proceeds were given to the Ronald McDonald House.

Etter has coached at the NCAA Division I, II and III levels of competition during his 19 years as an assistant and head coach. During that time he has worked for four Coach Of the Year award winners. Prior to his arrival at CUW he was the defensive coordinator at Carthage College. While at CC his defenses were nationally ranked in turnovers, scoring defense, total defense, rushing defense and pass efficiency defense. In 2004 his defense led the nation in interceptions. That success led to Etter being selected to the American Football Monthly “Hot Coaches List” which recognizes the top 80 coaches in the country. The 2004 Red Men team ended the season as the No. 5 ranked team in the country.

Prior to CC, Etter spent 12 seasons at South Dakota State University. While at SDSU he held the titles of defensive coordinator, special teams coordinator and defensive backfield coach. During his tenure he coached the No. 1-ranked punter in NCAA Division II during 1996 and produced the No. 3 kickoff return unit in NCAA Division II during 1994. His secondary set a school record for interceptions, while the defense was a conference leader in turnover margin and pass defense. Two of Etter’s former players went on to play in the NFL: Adam Vinatieri (K) for the Indianapolis Colts and Scott Connot (DB) for the Kansas City Chiefs.

His college coaching career began at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he assisted with the defensive backs. While at UW, Etter had the opportunity to coach Troy Vincent who was the seventh overall pick in the first round of the 1992 NFL draft, and went on to a long and successful NFL career. As a young member of Barry Alvarez’s staff, Etter developed his coaching philosophy and approach to the day-to-day operations from UW, a perennial Big Ten winner.

Etter’s wife Kerry is an elementary school teacher and they have two sons; Mason and Blake.