Concordia University Chicago Athletics and Director of Athletics Janet Wolbert are pleased to announce the hiring of Chase Hankins as the 21^st Head Football Coach, effective immediately.

"I am excited for the future of the Cougar Football program under Coach Hankins' leadership," says Wolbert. "During the time of his interim role, Chase has already made a positive impact on the student-athletes and members of our Athletic Department and CUC community.  Chase has demonstrated his commitment to our values of Christian Faith, Integrity, and Service and I trust these will continue to be integrated seamlessly within the football program to continue increasing the retention and success of our student-athletes.  With a commitment to building relationships, I can see Chase fostering strong connections across the campus, our Concordia community, and the past, present, and future generations of football athletes."

"I feel an incredible amount of excitement and relief," says Hankins. "It has been exciting to have the opportunity to carry out my vision and see it be so positively received by the players and members of the University. I feel the o­­pportunity to drop the interim tag has been a rewarding acknowledgment of the work our staff has put together the past few months."

Hankins continued by saying "I would like to thank a couple of people with the first one obviously being our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I would also like to thank my parents for the endless prayers and support and always picking up the phone no matter what time of day I call. I would like to thank my fiancé and love of my life Katherine Wirkus for the countless sacrifices she has voluntarily made and being more support than I could ever deserve. A big thank you to all of the mentors I have had as a player and coach that have shown me how to be a good coach and even better person. Thank you to the coaches that are on the staff, Coach Flowers, Coach Loubriel, Coach Clark, and Coach Joyce, for all of their hard work and dedication to Concordia. Finally, I would of course like to thank the players for their support and buy in to this process."

A native of Rockford, Mich., Hankins came to Concordia in 2022 as the Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach, a role in which he served for the last two seasons.

As a part of the CUC football coaching staff, Hankins' previous responsibilities fell under game-planning, play design, and film and data analysis for the offense. He also served as the equipment and travel coordinator ensuring that all of the equipment was managed and budgeted correctly. Hankins was also tasked with ensuring all travel operations were met properly. He targeted his recruiting in Illinois, Michigan, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Wyoming, Arkansas, California, and Texas. In addition to his responsibilities within the football program, Hankins also served as an Adjunct First Year Seminar Professor teaching "Vocation and College Success" during the fall 2023 semester.

"I am excited about the opportunity to lead the CUC football program to new levels and contribute to the continued growth and success of our student-athletes," says Hankins. "I believe my values align perfectly with the mission of Concordia in creating a Christ-based team culture making this an incredibly unique opportunity and fit that I couldn't be happier to be a part of."

As the Offensive Coordinator, Hankins has helped positively impact the development of the program over the last two years – demonstrated by assisting in coaching four offensive All-Conference players this past season in comparison to the previous year where the Cougars saw no offensive recognition. In the last two years, he has recruited 27 student-athletes while retaining 74% of them. Of his recruits, 63% of those student-athletes entered CUC with a 3.0 GPA or higher.

"Over the past two years, we've been very impressed with Chase's recruiting efforts, along with his ability to mentor and support our student-athletes both in the classroom and on the field," Dean of Students and Vice-President for Student Success & Athletics Kathy Gebhardt says. "Chase is committed to keeping Christ at the center of everything that we do and we are thrilled that he will be leading the Cougar Football program going forward." 

Prior to his time at CUC, Hankins served as the Wide Receivers and Tight Ends Coach at Aurora University. While there, Hankins coached five All-Conference selections and helped coach the second highest passing offense in the country. Prior to his time as a full-time staff member at Aurora, Hankins served as both the Offensive and Defensive Graduate Assistant, gaining experience on both sides of the ball. While at Aurora, he taught as an Adjunct Sports Management Professor in Introduction to Coaching Philosophies.

As Hankins enters his first season leading the Cougars he has a clear direction to head toward. "My goals for the future of the program is to continue building on the foundation that has been laid out over the past 3 months," he says. "There is an incredible amount of talent and potential. However, potential just means you haven't done anything yet so the major immediate goal is to continue instilling a sense of belief in our guys to help them achieve their potential. Once they realize that about themselves, the success on the field, in the classroom, and in the community will quickly follow."

Hankins played collegiately as a quarterback at Hope College and Elmhurst College. He earned his bachelor's degree in Sports Management from Elmhurst College. He then went on to receive his graduate degree in Masters of Business Administration from Aurora University.