Frank Hauser - Head
Coach (Offensive Coordinator and QBs)
(860) 685-2908 - fhauser@wesleyan.edu
A 1979 graduate of Wesleyan after
playing linebacker under Bill Macdermott and wrestling for the
Cardinals over his four years, Frank Hauser heads into his 16th
year as the Cardinals' head coach, sporting a 60-60 career mark.
Joining the Wesleyan staff in 1986 as an assistant coach, Frank,
who assumed head coaching reins in 1992, will be on the offensive
side for a 12th year, handling coordinator duties as well as QBs,
after spending his first 10 seasons at Wesleyan (1986-1995) as the
defensive coordinator. He handled specific duties with both the
secondary and inside linebackers on defense during his initial 10
years. Appointed to the faculty in 1987, Frank holds the rank of
adjunct professor at Wesleyan.|
Before taking the position at Wesleyan, Frank, who also
holds an M.A. and sixth-year certificate in math from Wesleyan,
taught in the Middletown school district for six years along with
one year at Glastonbury. He was the head football coach at
Glastonbury High School for five seasons, guiding the Tomahawks to
the Conn. Class LL state title in 1984. Frank was named
Connecticut Coach of the Year by three organizations after that
success. In 1985, his squad again made the state finals but lost
in overtime. Frank also was an assistant basketball coach at
Middletown for seven seasons.
An assistant men's basketball coach at Wesleyan from
1988-92, Frank has consistently been active in summer football
camps, both in Connecticut and his native state of Rhode Island,
since the early 1990s.
John Raba -
Assistant Coach (Inside Linebackers)
(860) 685-3917 - jraba@wesleyan.edu
Joining the staff as a full-time
coach in 1996, John Raba graduated from the U. of New Haven in 1993
where he was an outstanding fullback and team captain in football.
John was an assistant football coach at Brown in the fall of 1995
after assisting at New Haven in 1993 and 1994. He is in his 12th
season as an assistant and was the defensive coordinator from
1998-2005. John, now an adjunct associate professor of physical
education, also took over the reins of the men's lacrosse team at
Wesleyan in 1997 and is 130-58 over 11 seasons, including a
best-ever 18-3 campaign in 2007 and a 16-4 record in 2006. His
teams have made three consecutive NCAA Division III tournament
appearances with a spot in the national semi-finals in both 2007 and
2006. For his accomplishments,
John was named NESCAC coach of the year in 2001 and 2006, and New
England Division III coach of the year in 2004, 2005 and 2006.
He earned All-America honors in lacrosse while at New Haven. He
served as an assistant lacrosse coach at Quinnipiac and for a senior
club team in the New Haven area before coming to Wesleyan.
A 1996 graduate of Middlebury
College and a veteran college assistant coach in both football and
baseball for more than 10 years, Doug Mandigo joined the Wesleyan staff for the
first time as a full-time coach in 2006. He also assists head
baseball coach Mark Woodworth in the spring. An assistant coach in
football, baseball and women’s ice hockey at his alma mater the year
following his graduation, Doug moved on to St. Anselm College where
he served as the defensive coordinator and secondary coach in
football during the 1997 and 1998 seasons. The 1999 and 2000
seasons found Doug serving as a graduate assistant in football at
Boston College while earning his M.Ed. degree in 2001. He returned
to Middlebury for the 2001 season, hired as an assistant professor
in physical education while serving as defensive coordinator and
secondary coach in football and assistant baseball coach through the
spring of 2004. He then moved out west and served as assistant
baseball coach at Ohlone College in 2005 and as head football coach
at Piedmont (Calif.) High School in the fall of 2005, receiving
conference coach of the year honors. As an undergraduate at
Middlebury, Doug was a rare three-sport athlete, lettering in
football, ice hockey and baseball, and served as a team captain in
the latter activity his senior year.
Keith Hellstern-
Assistant Coach (Running Backs)
(860) 685-3012 - khellstern@wesleyan.edu
Coming aboard as a full-time coach
in Wesleyan's athletic department in 2006, Keith Hellstern returned to his
alma mater after an eight-year hiatus. A 1998 Wesleyan graduate and
four-time football letterwinner, Keith was the team's starting
center in 1996 and 1997. He moved on to coach and teach at the
Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Conn. for a year before taking his
first collegiate coaching assignment as a football assistant at
Amherst College in 1999. There for three seasons while also working
toward his M.S. in sport management at UMass which he received in
2003, Keith joined the Columbia football staff for the 2002 campaign
before becoming director of athletics at the Dwight School in New
York in 2003. Most recently Keith was fitness center coordinator, a
physical education teacher and assistant coach in football,
wrestling and track at Poly Prep Country Day School in Brooklyn. He
aides Drew Black during the year as Wesleyan's strength and
conditioning assistant coordinator.
Now in his 18th season at Wesleyan, Hugh Villacis had been
defensive line coach for six seasons but switched to the offensive
side in 1996. In 2002, Hugh received a national assistant coach
of the year award from AFLIAC. Earning his degree at Western
Conn. State U. in 1989, where he started on the defensive line,
Hugh had been an assistant football coach at Torrington, Platt
(Meriden) and Bristol Central High Schools in Connecticut before
Wesleyan. Hugh is employed by the Middletown school system.
A 2006 graduate of Wesleyan who is
enrolled in Wesleyan's MALS program, Shem Johnston-Bloom was an
immediate starter on the defensive line for the Cardinals as a
freshman in 2002 and handled that role for all 32 games during his
four seasons. A two-time second-team all-NESCAC pick (2004 and
2005), and a two-year team captain, Shem will be in his second season
as a college assistant coach having handled the D-line for the
Cardinals in 2006. During his playing days at Wesleyan,
Shem amassed 177 total tackles which included 15 sacks. He also
forced two fumbles and batted down a pass. As a senior, Shem joined
the lacrosse team for the first time as a faceoff specialist and
served as an assistant coach with the 2007 laxmen.
A four-year starter in the offensive backfield for Wesleyan, Phil
Banks will turn his football attention to the coaching side as an
intern in 2007. Tying for second all-time in Wesleyan football
history with 21 rushing TDs over his four seasons, Phil picked up
1,169 rushing yards on 386 carries. Also a receiving threat,
he hauled in 45 passes for 285 yards. A team tri-captain in
2006, Phil was named Wesleyan's offensive player of the year.
Phil also served as the men's basketball scorekeeper throughout his
time at Wesleyan.
A 2003 graduate of the University of
Connecticut where he played for three seasons under head coach Randy
Edsall, Clewiston Challenger came aboard for his first college
coaching experience at Wesleyan in 2006. Clewiston spent the 2003 season
as defensive line coach at Rockville (Conn.) High School and the
2004 campaign in the same role at E.O. Smith High School in Storrs.
He also helped coach wrestling while at Rockville. He added playing
experience last fall when he resumed defensive line work with the
Western Mass. Blitzin' Bears in Chicopee, part of the National
Amateur Football League. A mental health worker at Natchaug
Hospital in Mansfield Center, Conn., Clewiston is back at UConn
pursuing a master's degree.
Jeremy Gaucher- Assistant
Coach (Wide Receivers)
Receiving his degree from Worcester St.
College in 2006, Jeremy Gaucher is the only "newcomer" to the
Cardinal staff in 2007. With five years of camp coaching
experience at the Burrillville (R.I.) All Division Football Camp,
working with wide receivers, Jeremy begins his college coaching
career at Wesleyan. A tremendous football talent in both
college and high school, Jeremy has first-team all-ECAC New England
Div. III, first-team all-Worcester, first-team all-MASCAC and
honorable-mention All-America honors to his credit as a college wide
receiver. He currently ranks third all-time at Worcester St.
with 143 catches, good for 2,092 yards and 17 TDs. At
Burrillville High School, Jeremy was the recipient of all-state
recognition in both football and ice hockey, all-division laurels in
football, ice hockey and baseball, and was the School Boy Athlete of
the Year as named by the Woonsocket Call in 2000.
A four-year starter in the offensive backfield for Wesleyan, Phil
Banks will turn his football attention to the coaching side as an
intern in 2007. Tying for second all-time in Wesleyan football
history with 21 rushing TDs over his four seasons, Phil picked up
1,169 rushing yards on 386 carries. Also a receiving threat,
he hauled in 45 passes for 285 yards. A team tri-captain in
2006, Phil was named Wesleyan's offensive player of the year.
Phil also served as the men's basketball scorekeeper throughout his
time at Wesleyan.
Receiving his degree from Worcester St.
College in 2006, Jeremy Gaucher is the only "newcomer" to the
Cardinal staff in 2007. With five years of camp coaching
experience at the Burrillville (R.I.) All Division Football Camp,
working with wide receivers, Jeremy begins his college coaching
career at Wesleyan. A tremendous football talent in both
college and high school, Jeremy has first-team all-ECAC New England
Div. III, first-team all-Worcester, first-team all-MASCAC and
honorable-mention All-America honors to his credit as a college wide
receiver. He currently ranks third all-time at Worcester St.
with 143 catches, good for 2,092 yards and 17 TDs. At
Burrillville High School, Jeremy was the recipient of all-state
recognition in both football and ice hockey, all-division laurels in
football, ice hockey and baseball, and was the School Boy Athlete of
the Year as named by the Woonsocket Call in 2000.