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Football Coaching Staff
Matt Dillon, Head Coach
 Matt Dillon, who coached West Des Moines (Iowa) Dowling High School to the 2000 and 2001 Class 4A state football championships, begins his second season as head football coach at Cornell College, his alma mater. The Rams finished 2-8 overall, 0-8 in the Iowa Conference in Dillon's first season in 2006. Dillon owns a 146-110 career record in 25 years coaching football.
Dillon graduated from Cornell in 1981 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and business. He received a master’s degree in physical education from Iowa State University in 1986. Dillon was inducted into the Cornell Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993 and was selected as the quarterback on the Cornell all-century team in 1992. He was a team captain three times from 1978 to 1980 and was a team MVP in 1978 and 1980.
“This is a tremendous opportunity and I’m excited to take on the challenges of this job,” Dillon said. “This is the job I’ve dreamed of having since May of 1981.”
In 24 years as a high school head coach, Dillon is best known for piloting Dowling to a 79-20 record from 1996-2005 and advancing to the state playoffs seven times. The Maroons won the championship twice and were runner-up in 1998. Last season Dillon was head coach at West Hall (Ga.) High School and won three regional games while starting two freshmen, nine sophomores and six juniors. From 1982-87 Dillon was head coach at North Polk (Iowa) High School and led the Comets to their first playoff appearance and first playoff victory in 1986. He then coached Bozeman (Mont.) High School from 1987-89 and led the team to its first winning season in more than a decade. From 1989-92 Dillon coached Lake Worth (Fla.) High School and helped lead it to the first back-to-back winning seasons in a decade. He coached at Wellington (Fla.) High School from 1992-96 and led the school to its first winning season in school history (8-2) and qualified for the state playoffs for the first time in school history.
Dillon, a native of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., played at Cornell from 1977-80, where he became one of the most prolific passers in NCAA history. During that time the Rams compiled a record of 30-6 and won Midwest Conference Championships in 1978 and 1980. For his career, Dillon completed 307 of 568 passes for 4,877 yards and 49 touchdowns. He still shares a school record with five touchdown passes in a game, against Coe in 1978 and the University of Chicago in 1980.
“Cornell is a great place to go to school and get an education,” Dillon said. “I had an outstanding football experience here and some really positive things happened to me while I was at Cornell.”
Dillon and his wife, Marva, have three children. Zach, 24, graduated from Baylor University in 2005 and is playing professional baseball in the Baltimore Orioles organization. Samantha, 21, is a junior at Cornell. Joey, 19, is a freshman at Iowa State University.
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Kelvin Bell, Offensive Line
 Bell begins his second season as offensive line coach at Cornell.
Bell was an all-district and all-area football lineman at Olive Branch (Miss.) High School before joining the University of Iowa football program as a defensive tackle from 2000-02. He received a bachelor’s degree in computer science and mathematics from Iowa in 2006. From 2003-05, Bell assisted with the Iowa City Regina football program as a coach and weight room supervisor. The Regals qualified for the Class 1A playoffs in 2004 and won the state championship in 2005.
Adam Bentz, Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Line
 A native of Harlan (Iowa), Bentz begins his sixth season as assistant coach and third year as defensive coordinator.
Bentz graduated from Buena Vista University in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in world and American history, and a concentration in exercise science while obtaining a secondary education endorsement. He received an associate of arts degree from Iowa Central Community College in 1999.
In football, Bentz was named Iowa Central’s most inspirational player and All-Region XI fullback in 1998, Buena Vista newcomer of the year and Iowa Conference Academic All-Conference in 1999. Bentz played on the 1995 Class 3A state championship team at Harlan and in two Pepsi Cola Bowls with Iowa Central.
Bentz was a student assistant for the Buena Vista football team in 2001. He also was head junior high girls’ basketball and head varsity boys’ track and field coach at Storm Lake St. Mary’s in 2001-02.
Bentz is married to 2001 Cornell graduate Bobbi Buckner. They reside in North Liberty.
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Frank Fishler, Outside Linebackers/Strong Safeties
 Fishler begins his fifth season with the Cornell football program after spending the last eight years involved with the Rams baseball program.
A native of Prairie du Chien, Wis., Fishler received a bachelor’s degree in education and social studies from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse. He spent seven seasons coaching football at Midland (Iowa) Community Schools, including two seasons as the head varsity coach (1998-99). The Ram baseball team has won 117 games in Fishler’s first six seasons as head coach.
Fishler and his wife, Meg, and their son, Gunnar, live in Mount Vernon. |
Rick Grant , Defensive Line
 Grant begins his first season on the Rams coaching staff as a student assistant.
He earned three varsity letters as a defensive lineman at Cornell from 2004-06. Grant finished his career with 93 tackles, nine tackles for loss and seven sacks.
A native of Oceanside, Calif., Grant played one season at NJCAA Palomar (Calif.) College prior to transferring to Cornell. He was a volunteer high school assistant coach at El Camino (Calif.) this summer.
Grant plans to receive a bachelor's degree in sociology in January 2008.
Tyler Griffith, Defensive Backs
 Griffith begins his first season on the Rams coaching staff as a student assistant.
Griffith played defensive back and earned four varsity letters on Cornell's grid team from 2003-06. He finished his career with 126 tackles, 25 pass breakups and four interceptions. His junior year was highlighted with a 72-yard kickoff return for a touchown against Simpson.
Griffith plans to receive his bachelor's degree in exercise science this year. He resides in North Liberty.
Lucas Stanton, Wide Receivers/Assistant Special Teams
 Stanton, a 2002 graduate of Mount Vernon High School, begins his second season on Cornell's football staff. He coached the running backs as a student assistant in 2006.
At Cornell, Stanton played football four years and competed in track and field three years. He started two years at fullback and was named team most improved player during his senior season in 2005. He earned a bachelor's degree in exercise science and kinesiology in spring 2007.
Stanton has been assistant softball coach at Midland (Iowa) High School the past two years. He resides in Mount Vernon.
Eric Waldstein, Running Backs/Special Teams
 Waldstein begins his second season on Cornell's coaching staff. He has strong ties in the Iowa Conference, where he played two seasons at Buena Vista and coached three seasons at Simpson. This is his second season as running backs coach and first season as special teams coordinator at Cornell.
Waldstein graduated from Sioux Central (Iowa) High School in 1994 and played guard, fullback and tight end at Buena Vista two years before transferring to Morningside. He was a two-year starter at Morningside and earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education in 1998. Waldstein earned a master's degree in physical education, health and recreation from the University of South Dakota in 2001. Waldstein was a graduate assistant at Morningside from 1998-2000, working with the offensive line, linebackers and defensive line. In 2001 he was offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at South Dakota Tech in Rapid City, S.D., before heading to Simpson where he worked with running backs and tight ends from 2001-04. He was inside linebackers coach from 2004-06 at Carthage College, where he also coached the throwers in track and field.
Waldstein and his wife, Hillary, reside in Solon.
Jim Wallace, Tight Ends
 Wallace is in his 30th season on the Rams coaching staff. He graduated from Mount Vernon (Iowa) High School in 1964 before starting three years at center on the Cornell football team.
Wallace graduated from Cornell in 1968 with a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education. He earned a master’s degree in physical education from the University of Northern Iowa in 1971.
Wallace coached at Fredericksburg, English Valleys and Northeast (Goose Lake) high schools in Iowa before returning to Cornell in 1978. Aside from being assistant football coach, he has been head track and field, head golf and assistant basketball coach at Cornell.
Wallace and his wife, Jackie, have a son, Joel (31), and a daughter, Jamie (24).
Doug Wumkes, Inside Linebackers
 Wumkes begins his third season as an assistant coach at Cornell.
He is a 1967 graduate of State College High School in Cedar Falls, received a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Northern Iowa in 1971 and a master’s degree in history from the University of Iowa in 1986. Wumkes taught and coached at Mount Pleasant (Iowa) High School from 1971-76 and at Mount Vernon (Iowa) High School from 1976-2005. He was an assistant varsity football coach at Mount Vernon. During that span the Mustangs qualified for the state playoffs 14 times, placed second twice and won two state championships.
Wumkes and his wife, Jayne, reside in Mount Vernon. They have two grown children, Douglas of Waukon and Rebecca of Lisbon.
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