COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Barton introduces Hester to guide program

By Rudy Coggins
Published in Sports on June 20, 2018 5:51 AM

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By RUDY COGGINS

[email protected]

WILSON -- Imagine this.

It's a crisp autumn Saturday afternoon in eastern North Carolina.

The aroma of grilled hamburgers, steaks and hotdogs flows in a gentle breeze and tantalizes the taste buds.

Alumni tents full of tail-gaters dot the lawn.

The marching band warms up in the distance.

Kickoff is near.

That's Chip Hester's vision of Barton College football in the not-so-distant future.

Until then, he's ready to roll up his sleeves and get to work after his introduction as the Bulldogs' coach on Tuesday morning.

"This doesn't happen all the time where you get to start from the very beginning and set a culture," Hester said. "They say it takes a village to raise a child, and I think the same way about this football program. It's going to take a village to raise this football program, and I think the village is in place."

The search started 1 ½ years ago.

A steering committee that included Mayor C. Bruce Rose, community leaders and student-athletes interviewed several candidates who showed interest in reviving a program which last donned the shoulder pads and helmets in 1950.

They checked all the boxes at a high level for Hester, who emerged as the unanimous choice to guide the Division II school.

"Today, we're certainly excited to bring forward to you a coach who has all the experience in the world, as well as the excitement and enthusiasm to make sure that Saturday afternoons are successful," said Barton College President Dr. Donald N. Searcy. "But more importantly, we look forward to welcoming Chip Hester into our community as a person who will guide young men and women across our campus, and who will be a mentor of faith and integrity."

Hester plans to build the program on four pillars -- faith, family, education, football.

He's sold on the community.

That will be his sales pitch during the recruiting phase when he talks with prospects in his own football-rich backyard and statewide.

"When you're trying to recruit a young man and their family, it's about people and making sure that you're finding good fits," Hester said. "It's bold to start a football program. It's exciting. It's a huge challenge, but more than anything it's a huge opportunity."

A Raleigh native, Hester has 20-plus years of coaching experience at both the NCAA Division I (Football Championship Subdivision) and Division II levels.

He spent the last four seasons at North Carolina A&T State University, and the last three as the offensive coordinator. In 2017, the Aggies ranked 10th nationally among FCS schools in scoring (35.1 points/game) and 24th in total offense (426.8 yards/game).

N.C. A&T finished 12-0 and defeated Grambling State in the Celebration Bowl -- the national championship for Historic Black Colleges & Universities.

Before his arrival in Greensboro, he served as an assistant and then head coach -- a total of 18 years -- at Catawba College. He compiled 70 wins, fourth-best in program history and his 2007 team still holds single-season records for total points, points per game and total offense.

"I've had great football experiences and really learned," Hester said. "Other than my father, those coaches were the men who were the biggest role models and mentors for me. There's nothing I can really do to pay those guys back, but what I can do to pay them back is try to pass it forward to the young men that I coach."

Although he doesn't have an office and no assistant coaches on staff, Hester does have a blueprint for his first team which takes the field in 2020. He foresees putting a smart, first class-acting, fast and physical team on the field.

Hester plans to implement the RPO -- run-pass-option -- philosophy that paid dividends for the Aggies each of the past two seasons. He anticipates playing an aggressive defensive style that constantly pressures the opposing quarterback.

BC, he said, must also win the kicking game.

Hester and Todd Wilkinson, the school's athletics director, are working together on a schedule that includes in-state and region competition. Barton will compete as an independent.

Searcy said the school received a $1.2M gift geared toward football this week. Earlier this month, the school officials and dignitaries turned the soil for a new multi-purpose turf field. The lacrosse teams will use the on-campus field, which will also have markings for football and soccer.