AMES, Iowa – Iowa State head football coach Matt Campbell announced today that Jim Hofher, who owns 35 years of collegiate coaching experience, including 13 years as a head coach in Division I, will join the Iowa State football staff as its passing game coordinator.
“Jim is a leader and a guy that has been a head coach at Cornell and Buffalo,” Campbell said. “He has wealth of knowledge and has been an offensive coordinator with great success. He brings a great understanding of the game of football and is a great teacher, two qualities that will be tremendous assets to our offensive staff.”
Hofher has served as a head coach twice during his career, leading Buffalo for five seasons from 2001-05 and Cornell for eight seasons in 1990-97. He holds the highest winning percentage by a coach in Cornell’s modern history and he led Buffalo to the program’s first-ever wins over opponents from the Big East (Rutgers and UConn), Conference USA (Central Florida) and independent schools (Army).
“When you are in this business as long as I have been, you really come to value what relationships mean,” Hofher said. “I have a great relationship with Coach Campbell and I have always admired his work. I enjoy working with him and I am delighted to be here at Iowa State and I will do whatever I can to help us succeed.”
Hofher most recently was an assistant head coach and wide receivers coach at Nevada from 2013-15, helping the Wolfpack qualify to bowl games in 2014 and 2015. Nevada finished 7-6 and played in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl in 2014 and participated in the Arizona Bowl in 2015.
Nevada defeated Colorado State, 28-23 in the 2015 Arizona Bowl to end the season at 7-6. Hofher took over play-calling duties in the bowl victory after offensive coordinator Nick Rolovich left to take the head coaching job at Hawaii.
Hofher’s work with the Wolfpack receivers was exceptional. In 2015, a pair of wideouts registered 700-yard receiving seasons in Jerico Richardson and Hasaan Henderson. Richy Turner was Nevada’s star receiver in 2014, leading the team in receptions and ending his career ranking 18th in career receptions among active Division I players.
Hofher’s stint at Nevada was preceded by a four-year stay (2009-12) as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Delaware. He helped the Blue Hens to an appearance in the 2010 FCS Championship game.
Prior to his tenure at Delaware, Hofher served as quarterbacks coach at Bowling Green during the 2008 campaign.
Hofher was the head coach at Buffalo from 2001-2005 in the initial years the school was transitioning into FBS competition. Prior to that, he was the quarterbacks coach at Syracuse (2000) and North Carolina (1998-99) after a successful eight-year run as the head coach of Cornell.
He posted a record of 45-35 while at Cornell, including a mark of 33-23 in Ivy League play. The 33 league victories are the most of any Cornell head coach in program history and his winning percentage of .589 also ranks No. 1. During his tenure as head coach, the Big Red played for two league titles, winning one, and set 170 team or individual records for game, season and career standards at Cornell. In addition, he had two players selected in the NFL Draft and two players sign NFL free agent contracts.
Hofher has also been an assistant coach at Wake Forest (1983-86), Miami (Ohio) (1981-82), Tennessee (1989) and Syracuse (1987-88). He was the quarterbacks coach at Tennessee in 1989 when the Volunteers won the Cotton Bowl and were SEC tri-champions. He mentored former NFL quarterback Andy Kelly while at Tennessee.
Prior to his stint at Tennessee, he served three seasons as running backs coach at Wake Forest from 1983-86 prior to his first appointment at Syracuse. Hofher’s first full-time collegiate coaching experience was at Miami where he served as the quarterbacks and wide receivers coach from 1981-82.
During his collegiate coaching career, Hofher has coached in eight bowl games.
A three-year letter winner at Cornell, Hofher was the starting quarterback and led the team in passing yardage from 1976-78. He played two years under two-time Super Bowl champion head coach George Seifert.
A 1979 graduate of Cornell, Hofher was an All-ECAC player for the Big Red. He also earned academic scholarships through Cornell, Psi Upsilon and the Sphinxhead Honorary Society.
He was selected to the Xavier (Conn.) High School Hall of Honor in 1992 and the Middletown (Conn.) Sports Hall of Fame in 1998. Hofher and his wife, Cathy, have three daughters: Tara, Shannon and Molly.
Coaching Experience
2016 Iowa State – Passing Game Coordinator
2013-15 Nevada – Assistant Head Coach, Wide Receivers
2009-12 Delaware – Offensive Coordinator, Quarterbacks
2008 Bowling Green – Quarterbacks
2001-05 Buffalo – Head Coach
2000 Syracuse – Quarterbacks
1998-99 North Carolina – Quarterbacks
1990-97 Cornell – Head Coach
1989 Tennessee – Quarterbacks
1987-88 Syracuse – Running Backs
1983-86 Wake Forest – Running Backs
1981-82 Miami (OH) – Quarterback, Wide Receivers
1979-80 Wake Forest – Graduate Assistant
