Joseph Daniel Brookhart (born October 17, 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 and former player. He is the

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 ...

coach for the

University of Akron The University of Akron is a public university, public research university in Akron, Ohio, United States. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM fields, STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advance ...

, a position he has held since 2024. He was formerly an assistant coach at the

University of Colorado at Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a Public university, public research university in Boulder, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a Federated state, state, it is the fla ...

, where he was hired as passing game coordinator, tight ends coach, and special teams coordinator on Jon Embree's staff in December 2010. Brookhart was the head coach at the

from 2004 to 2009, compiling a record of 30–42. His

Akron Zips The Akron Zips are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio, United States. The Zips compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the NCAA Division I, Division I level as a memb ...

won the

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 ...

(MAC) in 2005, and he was honored as the MAC Coach of the Year the previous season. Brookhart played

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 ...

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

as a freshman walk-on before transferring to

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...

. He has also served as an assistant coach at the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

and with the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

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).

Playing career

As a three-year starter at

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 ...

for the

Colorado State Rams The Colorado State Rams are the athletic teams that represent Colorado State University (CSU). Colorado State's athletic teams compete along with 8 other institutions in the Mountain West Conference, which is an NCAA Division I conference and s ...

, Brookhart finished his career sixth on the program's list of all-time receptions with 111. As of 2006 he was still ranked tenth and with 1,873 career receiving yards is ranked seventh. He was selected an

GTE GTE Corporation, formerly General Telephone & Electronics Corporation (1955–1982), was the largest independent telephone company in the United States during the days of the Bell System. The company operated from 1926, with roots tracing furth ...

Academic All-American his senior year. After graduation with a bachelor's degree, he signed with the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West ...

in 1988 but was released the same year.

Coaching career

Early years

Brookhart worked for The International golf tournament in Denver, managing the event's corporate hospitality tents for one year. He then worked for

Xerox Corporation Xerox Holdings Corporation (, ) is an American corporation that sells print and digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox was the pioneer of the photocopier market, beginning with the introduction of the Xerox ...

. Within three years of selling copiers he was awarded the President's Club Award, an honor given to those who meet a sales quota among the company's top-15 percent. He then worked for two other companies in the Denver and

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

area. He had been managing a speed camp on the side of his career for high school and collegiate football players. Brookhart decided to forgo his business career and accepted an unpaid position with the

in 1995. Two years later, he became the assistant coach of

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 for the

Pittsburgh Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facul ...

. He moved on to the wide receivers assistant coach position in 1999 and added

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 ...

duties in 2000. He coached Larry Fitzgerald.

Akron

Brookhart became the 25th head coach of Akron on December 15, 2003, the program's third head coach since gaining

NCAA Division I-A The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

status in 1987. In his second season, he led the Zips to their first

(MAC) championship and their first

bowl game In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games primarily played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. For most of its history, the FBS did not use a playoff tourname ...

in school history, the 2005 Motor City Bowl, which they lost, 38–31, to the Memphis. He was fired after the 2009 season when the Zips went 3-9.

Personal life

Brookhart is married to Jami Brookhart, and they have four children: Joey, JT, John, and Jake.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Colorado profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brookhart, J. D. Living people 1964 births American football wide receivers Akron Zips football coaches BYU Cougars football players Colorado Buffaloes football coaches Colorado State Rams football players Denver Broncos coaches Pittsburgh Panthers football coaches Sportspeople from Pueblo, Colorado Coaches of American football from Colorado Players of American football from Colorado