Dino Babers

Dino Babers, born on July 19, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii, developed an early passion for football. He began his collegiate career at the University of Hawaii, playing three different positions—outside linebacker, strong safety, and running back—while earning Western Athletic Conference All-Academic honors. After an injury ended his playing career with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League, Babers transitioned to coaching, earning his master’s degree in education administration and supervision from Arizona State in 1987. His extensive coaching journey began in 1984 as a graduate assistant at Hawaii, moving through various assistant roles at notable institutions like Arizona State, Eastern Illinois, UNLV, Northern Arizona, Purdue, San Diego State, Arizona, Texas A&M, Pittsburgh, UCLA, and Baylor before achieving his first head coaching position.

Babers’ head coaching career began in 2012 at Eastern Illinois, where he quickly achieved success. In two seasons, he led the Panthers to a 19-7 record, including a 14-1 conference mark, and consecutive Ohio Valley Conference championships. His teams earned FCS playoff berths in both 2012 and 2013, with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, a future NFL second-round pick and Walter Payton Award winner, at the helm. Following this, he took over at Bowling Green in 2014, guiding the Falcons to an 18-9 record in two years, including victories over three Big Ten teams and a MAC Championship in 2015. He continued to lead teams to bowl eligibility, securing ten wins with Bowling Green in 2015 and ten wins with Syracuse in 2018.

Babers’ impact extends to player development, having coached or recruited more than 70 NFL players, including 33 draft picks, four All-Pros (Lance Briggs, Matthew Slater, Josh Gordon, Az-Zahir Hakim), and three Pro Bowlers (Briggs, Slater, Gordon). Fifteen of his protégés were selected in the first three rounds of the NFL Draft. After eight seasons as head coach at Syracuse, where he achieved two winning seasons and led the team to back-to-back bowl games for the first time in a decade, he joined the University of Arizona as Offensive Coordinator in February 2024. Throughout his 40-season coaching career, Babers’ teams have made 18 postseason appearances, including 16 bowl games, highlighting his consistent ability to build competitive football programs.