Mark Luther will be in his second season as a volunteer assistant coach for the Shippensburg University Football Team providing instruction and assistance to the defensive backs along with coach Maciejewski. It is Luther’s third year with the program after serving as an assistant in the 2005 season.
Among the talented members of the secondary Luther mentored in 2009 was All-PSAC Eastern Division First Team cornerback Travis Proctor, who led the team in solo tackles (40) and interceptions (4) while breaking up nine passes. Overall nine different players recorded an interception - the first time that a Red Raider squad has achieved this feat since 1999 - while SU ranked 31st in the nation for pass efficiency defense.
Before his arrival at Shippensburg, Luther was the head coach of Lock Haven University over the course of 4 ½ seasons from 2000-04, during which he guided the program to 16 wins. The program has amassed just five wins in five seasons since his departure.
He has accumulated much experience in the coaching ranks and was named the PSAC Coach of the Year award in 2002 for his service as head coach at Lock Haven. It was the first time a Lock Haven coach had been selected for the award since Jack Fisher in 1979.
Luther earned the credit by leading his squad to their highest win-total in four seasons by leading the league in red-zone efficiency and finishing third in the league in turnover margin (+8).
The 17-year veteran of the coaching ranks began his career as an assistant football coach at Juniata College in 1992. In 1994 Luther began his career at Lock Haven, where he served as an assistant coach working with wide receivers, defensive linemen and running backs. Three years into his time as a Bald Eagle assistant he was named the defensive coordinator, a position he served for an additional three years before being named head coach in 2000.
After leaving Shippensburg in 2005, Luther was an assistant coach at Shippensburg Area Senior High School in 2007 and an assistant coach at Scotland School for Veteran’s Children in 2008.
Luther is a 1992 graduate of Penn State University, where he majored in Management Information Systems. He also has a master’s degree from the school in 1999. While a Nittany Lion, he was a walk-on cornerback with the football team.
A native of Hawk Run, Pa., Luther and his wife Melissa currently reside in Chambersburg with their two sons, Tyler and Tanner. Luther is employed at Shippensburg as the MIS manager for the Student Association.
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