Former UW-Whitewater standout quarterback and assistant coach Lance Leipold is the new Warhawk football coach. Chancellor Martha Saunders and athletic director Paul Plinske introduced Leipold at a news conference in the Williams Center on Wednesday.

Leipold, a quarterback for the Warhawks in the mid-1980s and former Warhawk assistant coach, was associate head coach and offensive coordinator for Division II Nebraska-Omaha since 2004. He replaces Bob Berezowitz, who is retiring after 22 years as coach.

"This is home," Leipold said. "That opportunity in itself was very attractive for me and my family, and anyone who knows Division III football, and college football as a whole, knows that this is one of the premier jobs in college football, especially at the Division III level."

"Lance Leipold brings a unique dynamic to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, its athletic department and Warhawk football," Plinske said. "Not only will his temperament and background help him funnel the gifts and abilities of a highly successful program, but they will bring us new ideas and a different perspective."

The other three finalists for the job were Rick Willis, athletic director and former head football coach at Wartburg; Curt Wiese, head football coach at Marietta; and Stan Zweifel, Whitewater's assistant head coach/offensive coordinator.

UW-Whitewater has gone 28-2 the past two seasons, finishing as national runner-up in 2005 and 2006.

"The bar has been raised here the last couple of years." Leipold said. "My goal is to be the third best football program in this state year in and year out. One plays on Sunday in Lambeau, one plays in Camp Randall, and the third plays in Perkins Stadium."

Leipold is No. 2 all-time in the Warhawk record books for career pass attempts (647), third in yards (4,277), fifth in completions (303) and tied for ninth with 27 touchdowns. He was the team MVP in 1986, and was elected to the UW-W Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003.

Leipold's coached quarterbacks at Whitewater in 1987 and wide receivers in 1988, helping both teams win conference titles. After one year at Doane, he returned to UW-W and helped the Warhawks win another WIAC title while serving as offensive coordinator. Leipold was an offensive grad assistant at Wisconsin from 1991-93.

His first stint at Nebraska-Omaha covered 1994-2000, where he was part of a staff that turned UNO from a 1-10 team (1994) to conference champions in 1996, 1998 and 2000. He was offensive coordinator in 2000. He moved to Nebraska in 2001 as an administrative assistant. He returned to Nebraska-Omaha in 2004 as associate head coach and offensive coordinator, where he contributed to three 8-3 seasons and three conference championships.