SHIPPENSBURG, Pa. – Mike Yurcich has been hired to the Red Raider football coaching staff as its offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Yurcich spent the last six years at Edinboro University as its quarterbacks coach and the last five years as the offensive coordinator for the Fighting Scots.

Yurcich fills the coaching vacancy created when Mark 'Mac' Maciejewski '92/'96M was named Shippensburg University's head football coach on Dec. 8, 2010.

“I am extremely happy to have Mike join our football staff here at Shippensburg University,” Maciejewski said. “He brings a wealth of knowledge along with a passion for the game. Mike is an outstanding teacher of the game and will motivate our players to be the best they can be on the field and in the classroom. He will not only be a great addition to our Red Raider Football family, but also to our entire Shippensburg University family.”

During his tenure at Edinboro, Yurcich helped spearhead an offense that had significant success in the passing game. A lot of that production was guided on the field by multiple All-American quarterback Trevor Harris, a four-time All-PSAC West selection who signed a free agent contract with the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars.

Yurcich was a valuable mentor and instructor to Harris, who surpassed virtually every passing record in Edinboro University history while setting PSAC records for career completions and completion percentage.

Edinboro had back-to-back nine win seasons in 2008 and 2009. The Fighting Scots advanced to the 2009 NCAA Division II football playoffs where they competed in a memorable game against West Liberty in which Harris set a Division II playoff record with 630 passing yards.

The Fighting Scots averaged at least 30 points per game from 2007-09 and consistently ranked among Division II's top offenses. Among PSAC rankings, Edinboro was one of the top two offenses from a statistical standpoint in all three of those seasons – leading the league in 2008.

Specifically, the Edinboro passing game thrived under Yurcich's direction. The 2008 and 2009 Fighting Scots led the PSAC in passing offense, with the 2009 squad ranked 17th in Division II. In 2007, the Fighting Scots ranked eighth in Division II for passing offense, 18th in total offense and 25th in scoring offense.

Following the departure of Trevor Harris, Yurcich worked in 2010 with redshirt freshman quarterback Cody Harris. Despite his status as a rookie, Harris led the PSAC in completion percentage (65.7) and threw the fewest interceptions (5) of any signal caller in the league.

Yurcich also provided valuable instruction to Edinboro's wide receivers. Among his former athletes at the position is Ryan Valasek, who set a school record with 64 receptions in 2006 and was named to the All-PSAC Western Division First Team squad for his efforts.

A 1999 graduate of California University of Pennsylvania, Yurcich was a three-year regular at quarterback with the Vulcans. He was a two-year captain at Cal and graduated with a bachelor's degree in psychology. Before his arrival in western Pennsylvania, Yurcich spent two seasons at Mount Union College playing for legendary coach Larry Kehres.

After California, Yurcich received a masters degree in education from Saint Francis (IN) in 2002, where he earned a school counseling license. During his time at Saint Francis he was an assistant coach that helped the Cougars win four consecutive Mid-States Football Association Mid-East League Championships and compile a 38-8 record during his four-year tenure.

With Saint Francis, Yurcich was the running backs coach in 1999 before working with the quarterbacks in 2000 and 2001. He served as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach in 2002, a season that Saint Francis boasted the nation's top offense among NAIA schools averaging 530 yards per game. Yurcich also served as the junior varsity head coach from 2000-02.

His coaching career also includes two years as an offensive graduate assistant at Indiana University. With the Hoosiers, Yurcich coached the wide receivers while working as a quality control assistant.

A native of Euclid, Ohio, Yurcich is married to former Edinboro cross country All-American Julie Nemergut. They are the proud parents of a newborn son, Jack.