Don Treadwell (born June 10, 1960) 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 and former player. He was most recently the interim head coach at

University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) is a Public University, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Founded in 1873, it is the second oldest public college or univer ...

, having previously served 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 ...

and wide receivers coach on Doc Gamble's staff. Treadwell served as the head football coach at

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in northwestern Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion ...

from 2011 to 2013 and as the

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

from 2007 to 2010. He also acted as interim head coach after

Mark Dantonio Mark Justin Dantonio (born March 9, 1956) is an American college football coach and former player. His most recent head coaching position was at Michigan State University, a position he had held from 2007 to 2019. He led the Michigan State Spar ...

suffered a heart attack during the 2010 season. However, Michigan State credits the entire season to Dantonio's record.

Early life and playing career

Treadwell was born on June 10, 1960. He attended Oberlin High School in

Oberlin, Ohio Oberlin () is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. It is located about southwest of Cleveland within the Cleveland metropolitan area. The population was 8,555 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Oberlin is the home of Oberlin ...

, where he played on the football team as a

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 ...

. He attended college at

, 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 ...

as a starting

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

from 1978 to 1981.Player Bio: Don Treadwell
, Michigan State University, retrieved January 2, 2011. He was named to the All-

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

first team as a junior. He graduated from Miami with a bachelor's degree in

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

in 1982.

Assistant coaching career

Treadwell began his coaching career at

Youngstown State University Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio. The university is composed of six undergrad ...

under head coach

Jim Tressel James Patrick Tressel (born December 5, 1952) is an American politician and retired college football coach who has served as the 67th lieutenant governor of Ohio since 2025. A member of the Republican Party, Tressel previously was the president ...

. From 1986 to 1991, he served different stints as

quarterbacks 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 ...

wide receivers A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense, WR gets its name from the player being spli ...

, and

running backs coach In American football, a position coach is a team official in charge of coaching a specific position group. Position coaches have more specialized duties than the head coach, associate and assistant coach, and the Offensive coordinator, offensive a ...

. During his time at Youngstown, Treadwell coached alongside defensive coordinator

, whom he would later work for at

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

and

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

. He also held assistant coaching positions at Miami (Ohio),

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

North Carolina State North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina sy ...

, a separate stint at Michigan State, and Ball State. He returned to

in 2007 to take over as

, and he employed a balanced attack. After head coach

suffered a heart attack on September 19, 2010, Treadwell filled in during the interim. He led Michigan State to victories over Northern Colorado and 11th-ranked

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. After the win over the Badgers, Rivals.com named Treadwell the National Coordinator of the Week. On January 22, 2018, Treadwell returned for a third stint at

, this time as the defensive backs coach, special teams coordinator, and also as an offensive consultant. On October 8, 2020, it was announced that Treadwell would reunite with Doc Gamble, whom he worked with at Kent State. He is currently the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach for Gamble at Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Head coaching career

On December 31, 2010,

hired Treadwell as its head football coach. He was fired on October 6, 2013.

Head coaching record

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Treadwell, Don 1960 births Living people American football wide receivers Arkansas–Pine Bluff Golden Lions football coaches Ball State Cardinals football coaches Boston College Eagles football coaches Cincinnati Bearcats football coaches Kent State Golden Flashes football coaches Miami RedHawks football coaches Miami RedHawks football players Michigan State Spartans football coaches NC State Wolfpack football coaches Stanford Cardinal football coaches Youngstown State Penguins football coaches Sportspeople from Oberlin, Ohio Players of American football from Lorain County, Ohio Coaches of American football from Ohio African-American coaches of American football 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century African-American sportsmen