Dave Cecchini was introduced as the new Bison head football coach on Feb. 9 at an introductory press conference at the University’s Graham Building. Cecchini takes over for Joe Susan, who resigned in January after a nine-year tenure with the University’s football team.

As a former Lehigh Mountain Hawk wide receiver and assistant coach, Cecchini is no stranger to the Patriot League. Also prior to joining the Bison coaching staff, he was the head coach at Valparaiso University as well as an assistant coach at Harvard University, The Citadel, and The Military College of South Carolina. He has coached current NFL players, including Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick during his time at Harvard and New York Jets wide receiver Andre Roberts during his time at The Citadel. Roberts tweeted out his support for Cecchini as soon as he heard of the news on Feb. 6.

“I’ll always be grateful for the way @DaveCecchini believed in me and pushed me to be the best player I could be,” Roberts said. “He’s an offensive mastermind and makes everyone around him better. I’m excited to see what he’s going to accomplish at Bucknell.”

University Director of Athletics and Recreation Jermaine Truax said at the press conference that there was one main thing he was looking for in a coach throughout the selection process.

“Regardless of circumstances, has the person made where they’ve been better?” Truax said. “With Dave, that answer is a resounding yes.”

Truax said that Cecchini showed that he made football programs better as an assistant at Lehigh, Harvard, and The Citadel, and most impressively, as head coach at Valparaiso.

“He inherited one of the toughest jobs at Valparaiso,” Truax said. “And he did tremendous things while he was there. What all that says to me is Dave knows how to win in difficult circumstances and I love that. That’s not to say ours is difficult, but it won’t be easy.”

Tired of wearing Valparaiso and Lehigh brown, Cecchini is excited to don the Orange and Blue.

“I got a lot of earth tones in that wardrobe right now,” he said.

After warranting a good laugh from the crowd, the newly hired head coach sincerely expressed his willingness to invest in the program going forward. Utilizing this upcoming spring ball as a prime opportunity to begin, Cecchini stated that his coaching philosophy rests upon a foundation of attitude, character, and toughness.

To achieve this, Cecchini is focused on instilling a base level of confidence among his players. Prior to the press conference, Cecchini addressed the team for the first time in what became an extremely memorable moment for many of the football student-athletes.

“[Coach] made it clear that what we are trying to do is going to take some work, but it is nothing we cannot handle,” Sam Chitty ’20 said. “He knows exactly what a Championship culture is made of, and considering the numerous grinning faces at breakfast following the meeting, it is clear the team is excited and ready to begin.”