Dana August Dimel (October 9, 1962 – December 3, 2024) was 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 and player. He served as the head football coach of the

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming, United States. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, ...

from 1997 to 1999, the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

from 2000 to 2002, and the

University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public university, public research university in El Paso, Texas, United States. Founded in 1913 as the State School of Mines and Metallurgy, it is the third oldest academic component of the Univers ...

(UTEP) from 2018 to 2023, compiling a career head coaching record of 50–88. Dimel also coached as an assistant at

Kansas State University Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant coll ...

and the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

Playing career

Dimel played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

at Upper Arlington High School in

Upper Arlington, Ohio Upper Arlington (often known by its initials U.A.) is a city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States, on the northwest side of the Columbus, Ohio Metropolitan Area, Columbus metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, th ...

. He was named First Team All-Central Ohio League as a defensive linemen in 1980. Dimel then played at Hutchinson Community College before signing with

. After one season on the defensive line, Dimel made the switch to offensive tackle for his final two years at Kansas State. He was named All-American by the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He was signed by the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

of 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) as a free agent in June 1987 and released in August. Dimel was named to the Kansas State all decade team for the 1980s.

Coaching career

Dimel was a long-time assistant during his first stint at Kansas State under Bill Snyder, from 1987 to 1996. Dimel was instrumental in four consecutive Top 20 final rankings. As 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 ...

in 1995 and 1996, the Wildcats won nineteen games and finished sixth and seventeenth in the coaches' poll in respective years. From 1997 to 1999, Dimel was the head football coach at the

, and compiled a 22–13 record. At the time he became head coach, he was the youngest head coach in Division I-A. In 2000, after Dimel's rapid success at Wyoming, he became the head coach at the

. Previous success would not follow him to Houston, however. During his three seasons the Cougars compiled an 8–26 record—including an 0–11 season in 2001, the worst in school history. In 2006, Dimel became the

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

s coach at the

. In October 2006, he took over as running game coordinator for the team as well. After his promotion, the Wildcats beat three top 25 teams. Dimel returned to Kansas State, and helped them to a 21–5 record over the 2011 and 2012 seasons. The Wildcats finished in the Top 15 each season and

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

Collin Klein was a finalist for the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...

. In 2012, Kansas State was crowned champions of the Big 12 and earned a trip to the Fiesta Bowl. In December 2017, Dimel was named the head coach at UTEP. UTEP fired Dimel following the 2023 season. On July 22, 2024, Dimel was hired as a senior offensive assistant for

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

under head coach Bret Bielema.

Personal life and death

From 1999 until his death, Dimel was married to Julie Josephson Dimel. They had a son and daughter together. Their son, Winston, was a fullback for his father at UTEP in 2018. Dimel died in his sleep in

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the List of municipalities in Illinois, tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in ...

, on December 3, 2024, at the age of 62.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Illinois profile

UTEP profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dimel, Dana 1962 births 2024 deaths American football defensive linemen American football offensive tackles Arizona Wildcats football coaches Houston Cougars football coaches Hutchinson Blue Dragons football players Illinois Fighting Illini football coaches Kansas State Wildcats football coaches Kansas State Wildcats football players Minnesota Vikings players UTEP Miners football coaches Wyoming Cowboys football coaches Coaches of American football from Ohio Players of American football from Columbus, Ohio 20th-century American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen