Jared Williamson enters his 15th season at the helm of the Roosevelt football program, its fifth under the Lakers brand. This year marks a historic transition for the Lakers as they begin their first season competing at the NCAA Division II level as a member of the GLIAC. Williamson’s entire Head Coaching experience had been at the NAIA, leaving that level ranked 10th in wins amongst all active head coaches.
Williamson was hired in June of 2010 to start the football program from scratch at Robert Morris University Illinois, and is the only coach the program has ever known. Competing in their inaugural season in 2011, Williamson’s teams have won two league championships, and have been rated in the NAIA Top 25 Poll in 9 out of their 13 seasons. Williamson also serves as the Deputy Director of Athletics for the Lakers athletic department.
Williamson's teams have posted 15 wins against NAIA and NCAA top-25 opponents and three victories over top-five programs.
On the field, his players have accumulated a number of postseason accolades, including more than 144 All-League selections, eight All-American selections, six NAIA National Player of the Week awards, 47 MSFA Conference Player of the Week awards, and two MSFA Conference Player of the Year selections. Williamson has been named Conference Coach of the Year twice (2012 & 2016).
Classroom success has also been recognized during Williamson’s tenure, resulting in 146 Academic All-Conference selections, 71 NAIA Scholar-Athlete selections, and 11 Academic All-American selections. In 2013, running back Lamont Wims was selected as the Capital One College Division Academic All-American of the Year. In addition, Williamson's 2015 squad was recognized as an NAIA Scholar Team after compiling a 3.04 cumulative grade point average.
Williamson's arrival at Robert Morris University came on the heels of a successful stint as the Offensive Coordinator and Quarterback Coach at Illinois Wesleyan University, located in Bloomington, Ill. Under Titan’s Head Coach Norm Eash, the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin all-time wins leader, Williamson served as IWU's Junior Varsity Head Coach and Strength & Conditioning Coordinator, and helped guide the program to the 2009 CCIW Conference Championship, a ninth-place ranking in the NCAA Division III Coaches' Top-25 Poll, and a first round berth in the 2009 NCAA Division III playoffs.
While attending Mayville State University (N.D.), Williamson was a three-time captain of the Comets football team and set single-season passing records for total yards, completions, and touchdowns. A three-year starter for MSU, Williamson was honored as a two-time Dakota Athletic Conference All-Conference quarterback and graduated from Mayville in 2006 with a bachelor's degree in secondary education. Williamson would go on to earn a master's degree in sports psychology from Illinois State University, while serving as a graduate assistant coach for the Illinois Wesleyan University football program in 2006 and 2007.
Williamson is a native of Dallas, Texas, although his father's service career with the United States Air Force allowed his family to settle in multiple locations, including Germany, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Alaska, where he lived in Eagle River and graduated from Chugiak High School. Williamson currently resides in Yorkville, Ill. along with his wife Kelsey and their five children, Abigail, Gloria, Isaiah, Samuel, and Evelyn.
