Chris Klieman
| Sport(s) | Football |
|---|---|
| Current position | |
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | North Dakota State |
| Conference | MVFC |
| Record | 40–5 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born |
September 27, 1967 Waterloo, Iowa |
| Alma mater | Northern Iowa |
| Playing career | |
| 1986–1990 | Northern Iowa |
| Position(s) | Defensive back |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1991–1993 | Northern Iowa (DB) |
| 1994–1996 | Western Illinois (DB) |
| 1997 | Kansas (DB) |
| 1999 | Missouri State (DB) |
| 2002–2004 | Loras (DC) |
| 2005 | Loras |
| 2006–2010 | Northern Iowa (DB) |
| 2011 | North Dakota State (DB) |
| 2012–2013 | North Dakota State (DC) |
| 2014–present | North Dakota State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 43–12 |
| Tournaments | 10–1 (NCAA D-I playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 2 National (2014–2015) 3 MVFC (2014–2016) |
|
Christopher Paul Klieman (born September 27, 1967) is an American football coach and former player, and is currently the head coach for North Dakota State of the Missouri Valley Football Conference.
Christopher Paul Klieman was born on September 27, 1967 in Waterloo, Iowa to Robert 'Bob' Klieman and Mary Kay. He was raised in Waterloo and graduated from Columbus Catholic High School in 1986. Through high school Klieman was a star athlete competing as Quarterback and Defensive Back on the football team. His father Bob is a Hall of Fame official and was a long time coach of both golf and football at Columbus Catholic High School and is also a member of the Upper Iowa University's Athletic Hall of Fame. Chris has two siblings, a sister Sarah, and a brother Scott.
After high school, Klieman attended the University of Northern Iowa where he played in the defensive secondary for the Panthers football team from 1986 to 1990.
After graduating from Northern Iowa in 1990, Klieman began coaching for the Panthers under then head coach Terry Allen until 1993. Kleiman accepted a position with Western Illinois and stayed there for 3 seasons until 1996. In 1997, Klieman enjoyed a brief season stay with Kansas and one with Missouri State in 1999 before his 5 season stay at Loras College from 2001 to 2005. He served as defensive coordinator from 2002-2004. In 2005, Klieman accepted his first head coaching position and lead the Division III Loras Duhawks to a 3-7 record. In early 2006, Chris Klieman stepped down from his head coaching position at Loras to accept the defensive backs coaching position back at his Alma Mater Northern Iowa. He became Co-Defensive Coordinator the next year and held that position until leaving for North Dakota State in 2011.
In 2011, Craig Bohl hired Klieman as a defensive backs coach. He became the defensive coordinator the following season in 2012 until being promoted in 2014. After Bohl announced that he was leaving to become the head coach of Wyoming, then athletic director Gene Taylor promoted Klieman to become the 30th head football coach in Bison history in 2014.
After winning 3 consecutive National Championships and going 43-2 since 2011, the expectations for the 2014 team were not high. The Bison had lost their starting quarterback and a total of 30 seniors that graduated before the season started. But 2014 surprised everyone when Klieman and future 2nd overall NFL draft pick Carson Wentz led the Bison to a 15-1 overall record and a fourth consecutive national Championship by beating Illinois State in a close, hard-fought championship game. NDSU became the first Division 1 football program to win 4 consecutive championships.
In 2015, the Bison continued their winning ways and ended the season 13-2 with a 5th consecutive national championship, the most by any NCAA football program in history.
In 2016, The Bison lost in the FCS semifinals to the James Madison Dukes, their first playoff loss in the Fargodome. They ended the year at 12-2, their 6th straight year with double-digit wins.
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