Former Arizona offensive lineman Edwin Mulitalo has reached a level none of his Wildcat brethren have in the past.
The news went unnoticed in Tucson, but Mulitalo was hired as Southern Virginia’s head coach on March 30. I put some research into it and asked former players and members of the media and determined that Mulitalo’s hire makes him the first former Wildcat to become a head coach at the college level.
Mulitalo, an offensive lineman who played for Dick Tomey from 1997-98, is the first Arizona football player to become a head coach in college since Leslie Gillett was a player-coach at Arizona in 1902.
Edwin Mulitalo was a standout offensive lineman with the Arizona Wildcats in the late 1990’s.
As a Polynesian-American, Mulitalo also now joins Navy’s Ken Niumatalolo and Brigham Young University’s Kalani Sitake as one of three Polynesians to become an NCAA head football coach.
Southern Virginia, located at Buena Vista, Va., is a Division III private school aligned with values of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Edwin Mulitalo was the defensive coordinator for Southern Virginia the previous two years (Southern Virginia photo)
Mulitalo, who won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens in 2001, is in his third year at Southern Virginia. The 10-year NFL veteran was the defensive coordinator for the Knights the previous two seasons. He replaced Joe DuPaix, who was hired by Niumatalolo at Navy as slotbacks coach.
“I’m thankful for the opportunity to work with Joe at Southern Virginia and to be a part of this program,” Mulitalo said in a statement released by the school. “The whole process over the last two years has been great and I’m excited to step into this new role and opportunity to impact our players.
“I couldn’t have done this without my wife Laura. She followed me to Samoa and now to Virginia, and I’m grateful for her and all of our great family. I’m also thankful for Joe and his example to me. He’s a straight-arrow coach, and I was able to learn from him the attention to detail that running a program requires.”
Former Arizona teammate Kelvin Eafon, a sports radio personality in Tucson who also coaches youth basketball, said of Mulitalo’s hire: “It’s great. He is a really good guy and I think he will do anything to help those young men.”
Mulitalo is also the 33rd former Arizona athlete who is currently a head coach at either the high school, college or pro ranks. Here is a list of the 33:
FORMER ARIZONA ATHLETES AS CURRENT HEAD COACHES
High school boy’s basketball (2)
[table=”desc”]
Player,Years/UA,Team,Start
Mike Bibby,1996-98,Phoenix Shadow Mountain,2014
Jason Stewart,1997-99,Encinitas (CA) San Dieguito,2014
[/table]
Men’s college basketball (4)
[table=”desc”]
Player,Years/UA,Team,Start
Jason Gardner,1999-03,IUPUI,2014
Craig McMillan,1984-88,Santa Rosa (CA) JC,2000
Josh Pastner,1996-00,Georgia Tech,2016
Damon Stoudamire,1992-95,Pacific,2016
[/table]
Men’s professional basketball (3)
[table=”desc”]
Player,Years/UA,Team,Start
Matt Brase,2003-05,Rio Grande (D-League),2015
Steve Kerr,1983-88,Golden State (NBA),2014
Luke Walton,1999-03,L.A. Lakers (NBA),2016
[/table]
College baseball (2)
[table=”desc”]
Player,Years/UA,Team,Start
Tod Brown,1990-94,North Dakota State,2007
Bill Kinneberg,1979-80,Utah,2005
[/table]
Professional baseball (2)
[table=”desc”]
Player,Years/UA,Team,Start
Shelley Duncan,1999-01,Class A Visalia (CA),2017
Terry Francona,1977-80,Cleveland (MLB),2013
[/table]
Women’s college basketball (2)
[table=”desc”]
Player,Years/UA,Team,Start
Brenda Frese,1989-93,Maryland,2002
Adia Barnes,1995-99,Arizona,2016
[/table]
High school football (6)
[table=”desc”]
Player,Years/UA,Team,Start
Marcus Bell,1996-99,Eager Round Valley,2011
Robert Bonillas,1995-98,Desert View,2012
Mark Keel,1979-82,Silverdale (WA) Central Kitsap,2000
Scott McKee,1999-02,Sahuaro,2009
Clarence McRae,2003-04,Mountain View,2012
Brandon Sanders,1995-98,Pueblo,2014
[/table]
College football (1)
[table=”desc”]
Player,Years/UA,Team,Start
Edwin Mulitalo,1995-98,Southern Virginia,2018
[/table]
College softball (3)
[table=”desc”]
Player,Years/UA,Team,Start
Debby Day,1989-91,Cal-Lutheran,2002
Kristie Fox,2004-07,UNLV,2017
Jennifer Martinez,2008-09,Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College,2017
[/table]
High school softball (5)
[table=”desc”]
Player,Years/UA,Team,Start
Amy Baray-Rocha,1999,Salpointe,2015
Jackie Coburn,2002-05,Scottsdale Horizon,2013
Krista Humphreys,1993-96,Corona (Calif.) Centennial,2015
Danielle Rodriguez,2006-08,Tucson,2010
Jody Pruitt,1990-93,Peoria Sunrise Mountain,2011
[/table]
High school soccer (1)
[table=”desc”]
Player,Years/UA,Team,Start
Alex Davis,2003-07,Flowing Wells,2011
[/table]
College women’s tennis (2)
[table=”desc”]
Player,Years/UA,Team,Start
Vicky Maes,1995-98,Arizona,2001
Danielle Steinberg,2005-09,Kansas State,2014
[/table]
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