Ken Niumatalolo

Kenneth “Ken” Va’a Niumatalolo was born on May 8, 1965, in La’ie, Hawai’i. His journey in football began as a player, lettering three years as a quarterback at the University of Hawaii, where he notably led the team to its first bowl game in 1989. After graduating in 1989, Niumatalolo transitioned into coaching, starting as a graduate assistant at Hawaii and later becoming a full-time assistant. His early career saw him develop a strong foundation in offensive strategy, particularly during his first stint at the Naval Academy from 1995 to 1998, where he served as offensive coordinator. During this period, he mentored quarterback Chris McCoy, who achieved a Division I-A record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback and broke 38 school offensive records.

Niumatalolo’s most significant contributions came during his time as head coach at the Naval Academy, a position he held for 15 seasons. Under his leadership, Navy achieved 10 winning seasons and participated in 10 bowl games, marking one of the most successful eras in the program’s 141-year history. He became the program’s all-time winningest coach with 109 victories. His teams secured six Commander-In-Chief’s Trophies, the most in school history, and he is the only coach to start his career 8-0 against Army in the Army-Navy Game, eventually accumulating 10 wins against them. Off the field, Niumatalolo’s tenure saw 10 Academic All-Americans, a significant increase from previous decades.

His coaching acumen was widely recognized with three American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year awards (2015, 2016, 2019) and two ECAC Coach of the Year awards (2015, 2019). He was a finalist for prestigious honors such as the Dodd Trophy and Paul “Bear” Bryant National Coach Of The Year Award multiple times. In 2013, he was inducted into the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame, a testament to his legacy and pioneering role as the second coach of Polynesian descent and the first Samoan collegiate head coach in FBS history. After leaving Navy in 2022, he briefly served at UCLA, first as director of leadership and then as tight ends coach, before being appointed head coach at San Jose State in 2024, continuing his distinguished coaching career.