(KWMN)- After three seasons as head coach of Winona State Football, Brian Bergstrom is resigning, and taking a job at South Dakota State, sources confirm to the Winona Sports Network.
Bergstrom leaves his post as head coach after back-to-back 5-6 seasons, and a conference championship in his first year. He will become the Defensive Coordinator at South Dakota State University.
“Felt like it was a door God was opening, and we were supposed to walk through,” Bergstrom tells the Winona Sports Network. Bergstrom said he had many conversations with his family, and mentors in the profession before coming to the decision.
“I have a ton of close relationships in Brookings and on campus (At South Dakota State) and am close friends with the new head coach [there],” He continued.
South Dakota State hired Dan Jackson as their new head coach. Jackson and Bergstrom spent time together on staff at SDSU before Bergstrom took the head coaching job at Winona State.
Bergstrom says that he spoke with the team and staff via a zoom meeting. Telling them that tough decisions are part of growing up and progressing to be our best.
“I told them that they will be great and keep growing…I told them I believed in them and will always be there for them…It’s bigger than football,” Bergstrom tells the WSN.
Bergstrom concludes his Warrior career with an 18-16 record, including a conference title in his first season in charge.
Athletic Director at Winona State, Eric Schoh, says that the move comes as a surprise, but it comes with the territory,
“Yeah. I mean you hire someone as good as Bergstrom, you know he’s going to be on people’s shortlist…I think I knew when I hired him, that we might lose him. not that he was looking. And yeah, I was surprised [that he’s leaving], but not that he got the call from a higher level,” Schoh tells the WSN.
There will be conversations within the school and the program to work on a plan moving forward. The school is expected to name an interim, and speak with assistant coaches as well as the players, and recruits to ensure the program stays intact. There are multiple options for Winona State, and administrators will decide over the next couple of days which route is the best course of action.
In today’s climate of college sports, retaining, and acquiring players is as hard as ever. Keeping the talent, and the recruits will be high on the priority list over the coming days.
Winona State will have to look for a new football coach for the second time in four years, after having Tom Sawyer at the position for over 20 years.
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