Bruce Eugene Barnum (born April 13, 1964) is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

coach. He is the head football coach at

Portland State University Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the next ...

, a position he had held since the 2015 season.

Early life and education

Born in

Vancouver, Washington Vancouver ( ) is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, located in Clark County, Washington, Clark County. Founded in 1825 and incorporated in 1857, Vancouver had a population of 190, ...

, Barnum graduated from

Columbia River High School Columbia River High School (CRHS) is a public high school in Vancouver, Washington, United States. It is part of the Vancouver Public Schools system and opened in 1962. Columbia River has over 1,200 students. Columbia River is a magnet school in ...

in Vancouver in 1982. He then attended

Eastern Washington University Eastern Washington University (EWU) is a public university in Cheney, Washington, United States. It shares its satellite campus in Spokane, Washington with Washington State University. Founded in 1882, the university is academically divided in ...

and participated on the

scout team The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football Canadian football, or simply football, is a Sports in Canada, sport in Canada in which two teams of ...

of the

Eastern Washington Eagles football The Eastern Washington Eagles football team represents Eastern Washington University in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. The Eastern Eagles are members of the Big Sky Conference and play at Roos Field, which is known for bei ...

team for two seasons. Barnum completed his bachelor's degree in education and history at

in 1987 and M.Ed. at

Western Washington University Western Washington University (WWU or Western) is a public university in Bellingham, Washington, United States. The northernmost university in the contiguous United States, WWU was founded in 1893 as the state-funded New Whatcom Normal School, s ...

in 1991.

Coaching career

Barnum began his coaching career as a high school assistant coach in Washington state, first at Central Valley High School in

Spokane Valley The Spokane Valley is a valley of the Spokane River through the southern Selkirk Mountains in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The valley is home to the cities of Spokane and its suburbs Spokane Valley, Washington, Spokane Vall ...

in 1986 then with his alma mater Columbia River High School from 1987 to 1988. From 1989 to 1990, Barnum was offensive line coach at Division II

. Barnum moved up to the Division I level in 1991 as assistant offensive line coach and freshman offensive coordinator at

Cornell Cornell University is a private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson White in 1865. Since ...

, where he would remain for two seasons under

Jim Hofher Jim Hofher (born October 12, 1957) is an American college football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach at Cornell University from 1990 to 1997 and at the University at Buffalo from 2001 to 2005, compiling a career colle ...

. In 1993, Barnum returned to the Division II level as offensive line coach and run game coordinator at

American International College American International College (AIC) is a private university in Springfield, Massachusetts. History American International College was originally established on July 18, 1885 by Calvin E. Amaron who sought to create an institution of higher ...

. Barnum then coached at the Division III level, at

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with cust ...

as offensive line coach and assistant head coach from 1994 to 1997. After his stint at Coast Guard, Barnum returned to the Division I level at

Idaho State Idaho State University (ISU) is a public research university in Pocatello, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1901 as the Academy of Idaho, Idaho State offers more than 250 programs at its main campus in Pocatello and locations in Meridian, Idaho ...

and started as offensive line coach in 1998 under Tom Walsh. Under new head coach

Larry Lewis Larry Lewis (born October 30, 1957) is a college football coach and former player. Previously Lewis served as the head football coach at Idaho State and as an assistant coach at Weber State, Washington State and Colorado State. Lewis also played ...

, Barnum moved to the defensive line in 1999 and was promoted to defensive coordinator the following season. From 2001 to 2006, Barnum was offensive coordinator. In 2007, Barnum returned to Cornell as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, positions he held from 2007 to 2009, this time under Jim Knowles. In 2010, Barnum joined Nigel Burton's coaching staff at

Portland State Portland State University (PSU) is a public research university in Portland, Oregon, United States. It was founded in 1946 as a post-secondary educational institution for World War II veterans. It evolved into a four-year college over the next ...

as offensive coordinator. After he was appointed interim head coach after Nigel Burton was fired in November 2014, Barnum was named as the Vikings' permanent replacement as head coach on December 8, 2014. Barnum led the Vikings to a 24–17 upset over the

Washington State Cougars The Washington State Cougars (known informally as the Cougs) are the sport, athletic teams that represent Washington State University. Located in Pullman, Washington, WSU is a member of the Pac-12 Conference in NCAA Division I. The athletic pr ...

Martin Stadium Martin Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in the Northwestern United States, on the campus of Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. It is the home field of the Washington State Cougars of the Pac-12 Conference. Its full n ...

Pullman, WA Pullman is the most populous city in Whitman County, located in southeastern Washington within the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. The population was 32,901 at the 2020 census, and estimated to be 32,508 in 2022. Originally founded as ...

on September 5, 2015 for his first career victory as head coach. On October 10 Portland State defeated

North Texas North Texas is a term used primarily by residents of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex to refer to a geographic area of Texas, generally considered to include the area south of Oklahoma, east of Abilene, Texas, Abilene, west of Paris, Texas, Par ...

66–7, giving Barnum and the Vikings their second victory over an FBS school in 2015. The 59-point win set a new NCAA record for the largest margin of victory by an FCS school over an FBS opponent. Barnum became the inaugural STATS FCS Coach of the Year for leading Portland State to a 9–3 season and first FCS Playoff appearance in 15 years. Barnum has occasionally been criticized for deriding opposing teams. For example, in the week leading up to Portland State's 2016 road matchup with Southern Utah, he caused ripples of outrage in the Utah media when he stated, referring to Cedar City, UT (home of SUU), "I didn't want to stay in Whoville. We are going to stay up in the Grinch's Castle eferring to nearby Brian Head, UT We are going to go down, play them Saturday, whoop up on them." In response to the comments, SUU fans showed up to the game en masse, setting a single-game school attendance record. Many carried signs and banners mocking Barnum's statements, while others dressed up as characters from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". SUU won the game, 45–31.

Personal life

Barnum married the former Shawna Quigley in 1994. They have two children,. In July 2017, Barnum was publicly disciplined by

following the revelation of an inappropriate relationship with a married female staff member. Barnum received "significant economic sanctions" from the University following the investigation.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Portland State profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnum, Bruce 1964 births Living people American International Yellow Jackets football coaches Cornell Big Red football coaches Coast Guard Bears football coaches Idaho State Bengals football coaches Portland State Vikings football coaches Western Washington Vikings football coaches High school football coaches in Washington (state) Eastern Washington University alumni Western Washington University alumni Players of American football from Vancouver, Washington