Football

SCSU Names Joe Loth as Next Head Coach of Football

Loth Served as Head Coach at Western Connecticut State for 12 Seasons

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Southern Connecticut State University Director of Athletics Terrance Jones has named Joe Loth as the Owls' head football coach. Loth was selected after a national search and will be the seventh head coach in SCSU football history.

"I'm truly excited to take over such a historic football program as Southern Connecticut," Loth said. "Coaching in the state, I've noticed Southern Connecticut from afar, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to coach at such a storied program."

Loth comes to New Haven after serving as Western Connecticut State University's head coach for the last 12 seasons. Loth was hired in 2012, inheriting a program that finished the previous season on a 21-game losing streak. Since his initial season, Loth did not have another losing season and in 2018 became the program's all-time winningest head coach.

"I'm excited to present the seventh head coach in SCSU Football history, Joe Loth," Jones said. "Coach Loth has a proven history of rejuvenating programs and a long track history of success. I'm thrilled to welcome Joe, his wife Keri and his sons Zachary and Tyler, to Southern Connecticut and look forward to many years of success for the Owls."

Loth guided a WestConn program that was ranked first or second in scoring and total offense in the Massachusetts State Athletic Conference (MASCAC) each year during his tenure as head coach. The 2023 program averaged a program-record 49.2 points per game  as well as a 34.88 points per game average over the last three seasons. Academically, WestConn ranked first or second in MASCAC Academic All-Conference honors each season. 

Through 2024, Loth compiled an all-time record of 77-45 (.631) at WestConn. Last season he led the Wolves to a 9-2 record and a 45-14 win against Alfred University in the ECAC Asa S. Bushnell Bowl. In 12 seasons, Loth led the program to six postseason appearances including the 2023 NCAA Championship Tournament.

Prior to being tabbed as Western's head coach, he led his alma mater Otterbein College for nine seasons, building a 49-42 (.538) mark, which is the second-most wins for a head coach in Otterbein history. Prior to Otterbein, he served as the head coach at Kean College. In 24 seasons as a head coach, Loth owns a 133-109 (.550) lifetime record.

At Otterbein, Loth led the program to its only postseason appearance (2008) in program history and was named the OAC and Ohio Coach of the Year. He inherited a program that had one winning season prior to his arrival and just two since his departure. Similarly, he took the reins at Kean after that program lost 14-straight games and noted improvement in each of his three seasons. Prior to Kean, he held assistant coach positions at University of Rhode Island, Capital University, WestConn and Southern Methodist University.

Loth graduated from Otterbein in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in business administration and later completed a master's degree in business administration at WestConn in 2016.

Released provided by SCSU athletics.

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