Bio

Greg Etter completed his 15th season as Concordia Wisconsin's Football head coach in 2022. Currently, he is second on the CUW Football coaching all-time wins list. His 2013 NACC Championship team was undefeated in the conference with a 6-0 record and his teams have also earned four second-place and one third-place finish in NACC play. Etter has an overall conference record of 57-43 and was named the 2013 NACC Coach of the Year. In addition to that honor, Etter was also named the Wisconsin Private College Coach of the Year in 2013. His CUW teams have produced 174 All-NACC selections, two All-Region players, and one All-American. In 2012 and 2013 his quarterback, Austin Damaschke, was selected as the Wisconsin Private School Player of the Year. His 2011 team had a defense that ranked first nationally in passing defense. In 2019, CUW led the nation with zero blocked punts.

Since his arrival, the CUW football program has grown to as many as 150 participants. Etter places a strong emphasis on academics, which has consistently produced a team GPA of 3.0. During his tenure, the Falcons have had 472 players earn NACC Scholar-Athlete status. Under Etter, the Falcons have had 30 or more student-athletes claim NACC Scholar-Athlete status on 10 different occasions. The Falcons have also been involved with various community service projects. Some of these include Mentors for the Mequon Young Life Program, Longario Family Housing Project, Canned Food Drive, Dance for Diabetes, Read Across America, campus blood drives, donating time for the Cedarburg Education Association, and working with local Youth Football Organizations. The Falcons have soared in the classroom under coach Etter with Austin Damaschke being named a National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete in 2014. The Falcons have claimed five CoSIDA academic honors under Etter with Jacob Mason earning CoSIDA/Google Cloud Academic All-District honors in 2018, Adam Taylor and Connor Stoming earning CoSIDA Academic All-District honors for the 2020-21 season and Eli Wallace and Connor Stoming doing so in 2021. In 2022, the Falcons claimed four CSC Academic All-District honors under Eli Wallace, Drew Mickelson, Justice Kaneta, and Andrew Elmhorst.

The program has also consistently raised and donated money to various groups and organizations. The first funds raised went to build a monument, located near the south end zone, to honor our Military Veterans. Donations have also been made to the Ronald McDonald House, The Donald Driver Foundation, Special Olympics, and Breast Cancer Awareness fundraiser. 

Coach Etter has coached at the NCAA Division I, II, and III levels of competition during his decades as a coach. During that time he has worked for four separate Coach Of the Year award winners. Prior to his arrival at CUW, he was the defensive coordinator at Carthage College. While at Carthage 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.

He has also committed to giving his student-athletes the best experience possible during their time at Concordia Wisconsin. Coach Etter and others at CUW fought hard for the ability to play meaningful games during the 2020-21 season and were one of only two NACC schools to play five games. 

Prior to Carthage, 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 in 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 is a kicker for the Indianapolis Colts and Scott Connot is a former defensive back for the Kansas City Chiefs.

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

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

* Won the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference title
** Advanced to the NCAA Division III Championship first round