16 Facts About Luke Fickell

Luke Joseph Fickell was born on August 18,1973 and is an American college football coach and former player.

Luke Fickell was interim head coach at Ohio State for the entire 2011 season.

Luke Fickell started his playing career at St Francis DeSales High School, where he was a two-time first-team All-Ohio defensive tackle as well as a three-time state champion in wrestling.

In 2004, Luke Fickell took over as the linebackers coach, adding the title co-defensive coordinator to his responsibilities in 2005.

In 2011, Luke Fickell was originally named to serve as interim head coach in place of Jim Tressel, who was given a five-game suspension by the NCAA due to a recruiting scandal.

However, in May of that year, Tressel resigned and Luke Fickell was given a one-year contract to serve as interim coach, only for the 2011 season.

Luke Fickell guided the Buckeyes to the 2012 Gator Bowl against the Florida Gators.

On December 10,2016, Luke Fickell was named as the 42nd head coach of the University of Cincinnati, taking the place of the resigning Tommy Tuberville.

Luke Fickell was named AAC Coach of the Year for the 2018 season, which was only the third 11-win season in the University of Cincinnati history.

Luke Fickell led the team to another 11-win season in 2019.

Luke Fickell had previously received head coaching interest from other schools such as Michigan State, Florida State, West Virginia, Louisville, and Maryland.

Luke Fickell was one of thirteen coaches named to the watchlist for the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award before the 2020 season.

Luke Fickell was named AAC Coach of the Year for the second time in his career.

In 2021, Luke Fickell again led the Bearcats to a perfect regular-season record, including non-conference wins at the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Indiana Hoosiers.

Luke Fickell was named AAC Coach of the Year for the third time in his career, and for the second consecutively, as well as being named the winner of six other major awards including Home Depot Coach of the Year, Sporting News College Football Coach of the Year, Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year, Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, AFCA Coach of the Year, and the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award.

Luke Fickell was credited with coaching and winning his first game only several weeks after being hired, replacing interim Jim Leonhard in title for the 2022 Guaranteed Rate Bowl.