BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - Travis Rundle has been named as the defensive coordinator and football recruiting coordinator for Illinois Wesleyan, IWU head coach Norm Eash announced today.

“I am very excited about Travis Rundle joining the Titan football family,” said Eash. “He is young coach with experience and brings a great deal of enthusiasm to our program.
“Travis is a student of the game and a tireless worker who takes care of every little detail. There is no doubt that he will have our defensive players ready for our opponents.

Rundle replaces Mike Murray, who became the head coach of the Bloomington Extreme indoor football club.

Rundle has spent the past seven seasons working on the staff of Joe Paterno at Penn State University with the last four assisting with the secondary and linebackers as well as serving as assistant recruiting coordinator. He was a graduate assistant for the Nittany Lions for three years before joining the staff full-time as the “defense quality control” coach.

Rundle is no stranger to Division III, having graduated in 2002 from Albion (Mich.), where he was a four-year letterman and a member of three Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship teams while playing for his father, Craig Rundle (who is still Albion's coach).
Travis was an all-MIAA quarterback for two seasons and set a number of single season passing records that still stand, including completions (183) and attempts (329). He also threw for a school-record six touchdowns against Olivet in 2000.

“He understands the game from a quarterback's perspective, while designing and developing a defense to stop any offense,”said Eash. “It's a great combination and one that will allow him to be very successful.”

After graduating he remained on his father's staff at Albion as an assistant coach for a season, helping with the linebackers and with recruiting, before becoming an assistant at St. Mary's College in Moraga, Calif. In his season with the Gaels he worked with the wide receivers in a run-and-shoot offensive system and recruited in the Southern California area.

“He brings a Division III background and knowledge from a top Division I program, which is what I was looking for. I like the fact he was associated, while at Penn State, with all three segments - defensive line, linebackers, and the secondary,” said Eash.
“I am really looking forward to him coordinating our recruiting effort. At Penn State he had extensive experience in all areas of recruiting. It's his energy and personality that will allow him to be a very efficient recruiter for us - he knows Division III recruiting with an intensity level of that of a Division I program.”

Rundle and his wife, Sarah, are the parents of a son and a daughter.