Hall of Fame
Former head coach Rocky Rees is the all-time wins leader in Red Raider football history, having triumphed 123 times at Shippensburg University. He coached SU for 21 years, from 1990-2010, and was an outstanding ambassador to the university during his reign.
Rees ranks eighth in PSAC history for the most wins by a coach while at a PSAC school. He guided the Red Raiders to three NCAA Tournament appearances in his career, earning four PSAC Coach of the Year awards and three AFCA Regional Coach of the Year awards.
Rocky joined Shippensburg in 1990 and laid the foundation for success with offensive and defensive innovations. In 1991, his second season, SU went 10-3 and made its second NCAA Division II Football Championship appearance after it averaged just more than five wins during the previous eight seasons.
The 1999 season featured numerous school records for offense as the team finished 8-3. Records were set in 1999 for total offense (4,951) and yards passing (3,071) as the potent tandem of quarterback Chris Gicking (2,832 passing yards) and receiver Jamie Ware (1,334 receiving yards) helped SU average 38.2 points through the first 10 games of the season.
From 2001-04, the Red Raiders posted the highest win total for any four-year span in the history of the program with a record of 32-13. The culmination of that success was in 2004, when Rees led Shippensburg to a 10-2 record and a share of the PSAC Western Division championship for the first time since 1988.
The 2004 team was ranked first in the nation in kickoff returns, second in scoring defense, fifth in total defense and ninth in rushing offense. It also set a new school record for rushing yards in a season (3,112) while finishing second in points (392), touchdowns (52) and total offense (4,882). SU had 16 All-PSAC Western Division selections in 2004, including nine of the team’s 11 starters on defense.
In 2009, Rees guided the Red Raiders to the program’s first divisional title since 2004 and SU’s first outright conference championship since 1981. The Red Raiders scored at least 21 in all 12 games of the season, a feat never before achieved in 109 seasons of organized football at Shippensburg University.
Rees is also a well-respected member of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), including a term as the organization’s president from 1999 to 2000. He was elected to the AFCA Board of Trustees in 1992 and served as the chairman of the AFCA Meeting Rooms Committee from 1986 to 2002 and Chair of the Public Relations Committee from 2000 to 2006. Additionally, he has been a long-standing member of the Ethics Committee.
At Shippensburg, Rees posted a record of 123-110-1 (.528). Overall, his career record as a head coach is 159-125-2, including five years at Susquehanna University (1985-89). He was a two-time MAC Coach of the Year with the Crusaders and is also a member of the Susquehanna Athletic Hall of Fame and South Central PA Hall of Fame.
Rees earned his undergraduate degree from West Chester University in 1971 and his master’s degree in 1979. He is a member of the West Chester Killinger Foundation Football Hall of Fame, and still holds the Golden Rams’ single-game record for rushing touchdowns (5).
He began his coaching career at Newark (N.J.) High School, posting a 28-5-1 record and guiding the school to one state championship and two Blue Hen A Championships.
Rees currently lives in Shippensburg and has a daughter, Meghan. His wife, Patricia, passed away in 1998 and is annually remembered with the Patricia Rees Memorial Scholarship.
