Head Coach Kurt Barth
After a dramatic debut season that included Eureka’s highest scoring offense since 1995 and five games that were decided by one touchdown or less, Eureka College Hall of Famer Kurt Barth is set to enter his second season as head coach of the Eureka College football team in 2010.
Barth wasted no time making yet another mark on the Eureka program in his first game as head coach, leading the Red Devils to their first victory over Knox since 1991 with a 28-13 win on Sept. 5, 2009. Barth later became the first head coach since Nick Fletcher in 1995 to win two of his first three games at Eureka. Using the same high-powered offense that made him one of the most feared wide receivers in the country more than a decade ago, Barth directed the Red Devils to a total of 300 points in 10 games during the 2009 campaign, the fourth-highest total by a Eureka team in the 106-year history of the program.
His debut season as head coach of the Red Devils also produced a UMAC South Division Offensive Player of the Year award for graduated quarterback Nick Lindsey, 10 players named to the postseason All-UMAC South team and seven UMAC South player of the week awards.
A 1998 graduate of Eureka College with a B.S. in physical education, Barth is coaching for the third time on the Eureka staff and first time as head coach. Shortly following his record-breaking playing career for the Red Devils, Barth served as an assistant coach in 1998, then returned for his second stint on the EC staff from 2003-04 as offensive coordinator. He made one other stop at the college level, spending the 1999 season as a graduate assistant coach at Defiance College in Defiance, Ohio.
One of the most decorated players in Eureka football history, Barth was a three-time NCAA Division III All-American from 1995-97 and was inducted into the Eureka College Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004. The Red Devils compiled a 26-14 record during Barth’s time at EC, which included an NAIA playoff berth in 1994 and a 9-1 record in 1995. He formed a lethal combination with quarterbacks Mike Simpson and John Furmaniak that still brings back vivid memories to many Eureka fans today.
In October of 1997, Barth set the NCAA Division III record in career receiving yards. He finished with 4,311 yards, currently sixth in NCAA history. He had 256 career receptions and scored 51 touchdowns. As a sophomore in 1995, he led the country in receiving yards per game at 133.7. The Red Devils lost just one game that season as Barth recorded 68 catches, 1,337 yards and 18 touchdowns. Against Concordia (Wis.) in 1996, Barth had 20 receptions, which is still tied for third-most in a game in NCAA history. By the time he had completed his EC playing career, Barth ranked second in NCAA Division III for career touchdowns (51), career receiving yards per game (110.5) and touchdowns in a season (18).
He was the head coach at Eureka High School from 2005-08, leading the Hornets to a berth in the IHSA class 4A state playoffs in 2007. In all, Barth coached 48 all-conference players during his four-year stay at EHS, including a pair of all-state picks. Nine of Barth’s former EHS players suited up for the Red Devils in 2009, including All-UMAC South wide receiver Wes Schmidgall. Barth also coached at the high school level from 2000-2002 as the defensive and special teams coordinator at his alma mater, Fieldcrest High School.
Following his first stint as an assistant coach on the EC staff, Barth enjoyed two seasons as a professional player. He was an Indoor Football League Pro Bowl selection in the summer of 2000 for the Duluth-Superior Lumberjacks. The following summer, Barth was named the most valuable player of the af2’s Peoria Pirates in 2001.
Barth will also begin his second season as the Eureka track & field head coach in 2011.
Barth and his wife Becca have two children, Brayson (4) and Kamille (2), and reside in Washington. |
