Perry Jehlicka (pronounced Jah-leck-ah) became the Marauders' ninth head football coach in 61 years, and will also become a full-time instructor for physical education and athletics. Jehlicka, takes over for Brent Carder, who retired after 37 years as the Marauders' head coach in December of last year, and inherits a program that has lost 26 straight games.
But, in Jehlicka's 11 years as a football coach, he has had more than a hand in turning around losing football programs.
At West Virginia University Institute of Technology, he was the defensive coordinator as well as recruiting coordinator for a Golden Bear team that had recently ended a 32-game losing streak. In those two years, 2001 and 2002, the Golden Bears picked up 11 wins -- more than the other Golden Bear teams from 1991 to 2006 combined. In 2002, WVUT was 6-5, the first winning season in 12 years and was ranked in the NCAA Northeast Region for the first time in school history.
He brings to AVC 11 years of coaching, recruiting, financial aid and academic advising experience at the NCAA Division I-AA, II and III levels, as well as at the California Community College level at Reedley College.
At Tusculum College in Greenville, TN, where he was director of football operations and secondary coach, the Pioneers went from 3-7 in 2005 to 6-5 in 2006 and had the second best rush defense in the nation. As the director of football operations, Jehlicka was in charge of coordinating the team’s travel, NCAA compliance and was the liaison with the college’s admissions and financial aid departments.
He moved to Tusculum following two seasons as defensive coordinator and linebacker coach at the University of Charleston in West Virginia. The Golden Eagles, an NCAA II school, finished as the No. 2 ranking pass defensive team in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, while improving a team scoring defense over 12 points per game from the previous year. He was also the Golden Eagles' recruiting coordinator, which -- added to West Virginia Institute of Technology and Tusculum recruiting duties -- gives him extensive experience in high school recruiting in California, Florida, Tennessee, Alaska, Idaho, North Dakota, Montana, Delaware, Arkansas and North and South Carolina.
When Dean Hood, the defensive coordinator at Wake Forest, was asked if he would consider Jehlicka for a full time position he answered flatly "No. I would hire him." The Demon Deacons were the No. 15 team in the country last season, losing to No. 5 Louisville in the Orange Bowl.
Jehlicka coached in 2000 at Capital University, where he was linebacker coach and also held the title of assistant athletic director. His defense led the Ohio Athletic Conference with 35 turnovers forced and 47 sacks, while improving the team’s scoring defense by a dozen points per game.
From 1998-2000, he was the linebacker coach and academic coordinator at Reedley College. The Tigers, in those three seasons, were beginning to emerge as a northern California powerhouse and would win the national and state title in 2002.
His first coaching stint was as a defensive restricted earnings coach at Eastern Kentucky University from 1996-97. The 1997 EKU squad went 8-4 and won the Ohio Valley Conference title, while advancing to the NCAA playoffs. The Colonels -- with Jehlicka coaching the safties -- ranked sixth nationally in pass efficiency defense and seventh in scoring defense. The 1996 squad finished as OVC runner-up while ranking sixth in net punting. The head coach for the Colonels was Roy Kidd, who retired the winningest NCAA Div. I-AA coach of all time with a 315-123-8 record.
Jehlicka played his collegiate career at Nevada, Las Vegas where he was a four-year letterman as a defensive back. His junior squad was the 1994 Big West Conference Champion, while also winning the Las Vegas Bowl.
He holds a bachelor’s degree from UNLV in 1996 and earned his master’s degree from Eastern Kentucky in 1997.
He is the son of Rodger and Liz Jehlicka who live in Springfield, IL. His father is currently the athletic director at the University of Illinois-Springfield. He also served as associate athletic director at Eastern Illinois University and athletic director at Adams State College of Alamosa, CO.
Perry is married to the former Lisa Braum of Littleton, CO.