CDH Announces New Football Coach and Advancement Gift Officer

March 13, 2019

Cretin-Derham Hall has named Chuck Miesbauer ‘03 as Head Football Coach, and Alumni and Development Gift Officer. He will join CDH on March 25, 2019.

Miesbauer ’03 was most recently Head Football Coach and Interim Co-Athletic Director at Presentation College in Aberdeen, South Dakota. In 2016, Miesbauer led a defense which finished #4 in the country before taking over as head coach for the 2017 season. In two seasons as the head coach, his teams had 21 All-Conference selections, along with a passing offense that finished 15th in the country. Miesbauer's teams also finished every semester with a team GPA above 3.0, producing 49 Academic All-Conference and 19 Academic All-American selections in two years. The core values of Service, Discipline, and Accountability were the foundation for his program. 

Prior to his collegiate career as a coach, Miesbauer was part of the CDH football coaching staff in 2008-09 and helped the team win the 2009 state title.

“I am extremely excited to re-join the Cretin-Derham Hall Raider football family! Being a Raider and playing for Coach Kallok helped shape me into the person I am today,” said Miesbauer. “I am grateful for the opportunity to come back to a place I love and help young men reach their highest potential as people, as students, and as football players.”

“Miesbauer will lead our football program with a tremendous sense of both tradition and vision,” noted Phil Archer ’99, Athletic Director at CDH. “Our student-athletes will benefit from his high standards in skill development, discipline, and personal accountability. We are blessed to have him return to CDH to develop these young men.” 

Alumni and Advancement Role

Miesbauer’s primary position will be Alumni and Development Gift Officer, with specific responsibility for CDH alumni engagement. At Presentation College, he also served as Assistant Athletic Director for Fundraising where he helped develop a capital campaign for a multisport stadium on campus.

“We are thrilled to have one of our alumni return home,” remarked Rob Bollinger, Vice President for Advancement. “His passion for the mission of CDH will help solidify and grow our connection to our alumni, especially with those who graduated from Cretin-Derham Hall.”

“Cretin-Derham Hall has a strong tradition of generosity and I am excited to join the Advancement Office to help continue that tradition,” said Miesbauer. “The Cretin-Derham Hall experience would not be possible if not for the generosity of alumni, families, and community supporters. I look forward to creating and cultivating relationships in an effort to make a Cretin-Derham Hall education accessible to as many young people as possible.”

Miesbauer will move back to the Twin Cities with his wife, Alexa, and daughter, Mary Katherine.

Brooks Bollinger Steps Down

After four years with the CDH football program, serving the final three years as head coach, Brooks Bollinger announced his resignation as head coach in late February. “I am proud of the results we achieved on the field, but I am most proud of the young men that played in our program over the years. It has been a tremendous privilege and honor to be the head coach at CDH.”

Bollinger will remain a Special Assistant to the football program to ensure a successful transition period. 

Athletic Director Phil Archer shared his appreciation for Bollinger’s leadership. “His program’s commitment to academic excellence, as well as our deep run in the state tournament, contributed greatly to our legacy of excellence in athletics at CDH.”

Since taking the program's helm in 2016, Bollinger has amassed a record of 20–10 (.667). Bollinger holds a career record of 29–13 (.690) in Minnesota high school football after a previous stint with the Hill-Murray Pioneers in 2011. In 2017, Bollinger was awarded the Metro-East Coach of the Year Award after leading the Raiders to an 8–3 record, and a state tournament berth for the first time since 2011.  Memorably, Bollinger coined the team’s run to state as the “Monster Rally” in honor of his childhood friend Mark Hoverson’s battle against cancer. Bollinger made the hard decision to step down in order to balance career challenges and a growing family of five children with his wife, Natalie Roedler Bollinger ’98.