Robert J. Surace (pronounced ; born April 25, 1968) is an American

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

coach. He is currently the head football coach at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, a position he had held since the 2010 season. Surace was the head football coach at

Western Connecticut State University Western Connecticut State University (WCSU and WestConn) is a public university in Danbury, Connecticut. It was founded in 1903 as a teacher's college and is part of the Connecticut State University System. WCSU consists of four schools: the A ...

from 2000 to 2001. He had worked as an assistant coach in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) and the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL).

Early life

Surace was born on April 25, 1968, in

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Harrisburg ( ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,099 as of 2020, Harrisburg is the ninth-most populous city in Pennsylvania. It is the larger of the two pr ...

, grew up in

Millville, New Jersey Millville is a city in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 27,491, a decrease of 909 (−3.2%) from the 2010 census count of 28,400, which in turn reflected an in ...

and attended Millville Senior High School, where his father, Tony Surace, was a longtime football and baseball coach. He attended

, where he played on the

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

from 1987 to 1989 as a center. In 1989, the

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

named Surace to the All-Ivy team. He graduated in 1990. Surace's wife Lisa was a former soccer player at Princeton, and practiced

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

in Cincinnati. The couple have a son, A.J., who is a Quarterback at Rutgers and a daughter, Allison. His brother Brian was the

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (; RPI) is a private university, private research university in Troy, New York, United States. It is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking world and the Western Hemisphere. It was establishe ...

.Millville native Bob Surace finds dream coaching job at Princeton
''

The Press of Atlantic City ''The Press of Atlantic City'' is the fourth-largest daily newspaper in New Jersey. Originally based in Pleasantville, New Jersey, Pleasantville, it is the primary newspaper for southeastern New Jersey and the Jersey Shore. The Designated marke ...

'', October 13, 2010.

Coaching career

Surace began coaching in 1990 as the running backs coach at

Springfield College Springfield College is a private university in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. The institution's mission, called the Humanism, Humanics philosophy, calls for educating students in spirit, mind, and body for leadership in service ...

. While there, he earned a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in

sports management Sport management is the field of business dealing with sports and recreation. Sports management involves any combination of skills that correspond with planning, organizing, directing, controlling, budgeting, leading, or evaluating of any organiza ...

.Bob Surace Bio
, Princeton University, retrieved January 1, 2011. In 1993, he was the offensive line coach at the

Maine Maritime Academy Maine Maritime Academy (Maine Maritime or MMA) is a public college focused on maritime training and located in Castine, Maine. The academy was established by the 90th Maine Legislature on March 21, 1941. Unlike federal service academies, a cong ...

. In 1994, he was an assistant coach under

Forrest Gregg Alvis Forrest Gregg (October 18, 1933 – April 12, 2019) was an American professional football player and coach. A Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive tackle for 16 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), he was a part of six NFL champ ...

for the

Shreveport Pirates The Shreveport Pirates were a Canadian Football League team, playing at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States. They were established in 1994 as part of the CFL's expansion into the United States and disbanded upon the ...

of the

. In 1995, he was the offensive line coach at

. In 1999, he became the

. In 2000, Surace was promoted to head coach. In his second season, he led the Colonials to the Freedom Football Conference championship and the second round of the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Division III In sport, the Third Division, also called Division 3, Division Three, or Division III, is often the third-highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Association football *Belgian Third ...

Championship playoffs. His record at Western Connecticut State was 18–3.Princeton Hires Bengals Assistant Surace as Head Football Coach
''Bloomberg'', December 23, 2009. Surace then joined the staff of the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

in the

. From 2002 to 2003, he was an offensive staff assistant, and from 2004 to 2009, an assistant offensive line coach. Princeton hired Surace in December 2009, which made him the first alumnus as coach since

Bob Casciola Robert F. Casciola (born ) is an American former college football coach, National Basketball Association executive, banking executive, and broadcaster. He was the head coach at the University of Connecticut from 1971 to 1972 and at Princeton Uni ...

in 1977. In his first season, Princeton finished with a 1–9 record.Blaze's Patton picks Princeton
, ''The Daily News Journal'', December 23, 2010.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Princeton profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Surace, Bob 1968 births Living people American football centers Cincinnati Bengals coaches Maine Maritime Mariners football coaches Princeton Tigers football coaches Princeton Tigers football players Shreveport Pirates coaches Springfield Pride football coaches Western Connecticut Wolves football coaches Millville High School (New Jersey) alumni Sportspeople from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania Sportspeople from Millville, New Jersey Coaches of American football from New Jersey Players of American football from Cumberland County, New Jersey Players of American football from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania American people of Italian descent