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Bruce Barnum

Bruce Barnum named Big Sky Coach of the Year
http://goviks.com/news/2015/11/24/FB_1124151802.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Portland State Head Coach Bruce Barnum has been named the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year. Barnum, also a National Coach of the Year candidate, was selected as the league's top coach in a vote by his peers.

Barnum, who took over as interim coach last November, was given a five-year contract in the middle of this season and he definitely earned it. In a season that has probably surprised all except those within the Viking program, the native of Vancouver, WA has led the Vikings to a 9-2 record and the post-season. PSU will host a second-round playoff game on Dec. 5 at Providence Park against either Northern Iowa or Eastern Illinois.

Barnum is the first Viking football coach ever to win the Big Sky's Coach of the Year honor. He is also on the ballot for FCS National Coach of the Year honors.

His achievements since taking over on the Park Blocks following last season are remarkable:
• The Vikings have achieved the Division I school record for wins (9) in season.
• Portland State matched its best Big Sky Conference record (6-2).
• The Vikings earned a #6 seed in the NCAA Playoffs, getting a first-round bye and a home game on Dec. 5.
• The Vikings are 5-0 against nationally-ranked teams in 2015 after losing the previous 21 in a row dating back to 2008.
• PSU has improved by 6 1/2 games over last season (9-2/3-9).
• Portland State set a school record with five road wins in one season, including tying a school record with four straight road wins.
• PSU ended a three-game losing streak to Eastern Washington on Nov. 21
• The Vikings were the only team to beat first-place Southern Utah.
• PSU ended an eight-game losing streak to Montana on Oct. 31.
• The Vikings stopped a three-game losing streak to Cal Poly on Oct. 24.
• PSU ended an eight-game losing streak to Montana State on Oct. 17.
• An Oct. 10 win at North Texas gave PSU two wins over FBS teams in a season for the first time ever.
• The Vikings beat a Pac-12 team for the first time ever in a win over Washington State on Sept. 5.
• Ranked fifth in the nation entering the NCAA Playoffs, the Vikings have achieved their highest ranking since Oct. 16, 2000 (2nd).
 
What a year Barney and his staff had!!!

Portland State's Barnum goes from interim to FCS Coach of the Year

http://www.fcs.football/cfb/story.asp?i=20151207134731951876504" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
Pure Barney!!!!! This Head Coach can see the forest from the trees:

Portland State coach Bruce Barnum gives bonus money to the PSU assistants

http://www.oregonlive.com/collegefootball/index.ssf/2015/12/portland_state_coach_bruce_bar_2.html#incart_river_home" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
Talk about irony.

Bruce Barnum and Mike Leach, the two head coaches involved in what many consider the biggest upset in college football this year were both selected as the "Coach of the Year" in their respective conferences.

The biggest difference is that Coach Barnum scored the trifecta, he won the upset, was picked Big Sky "Coach of the Year" and the D-1 FCS "Coach of the Year."

No word on who the FBS coach of the year is, but I doubt Mike Leach is among those who are being considered.
 
CaseyOrourke said:
Talk about irony.

Bruce Barnum and Mike Leach, the two head coaches involved in what many consider the biggest upset in college football this year were both selected as the "Coach of the Year" in their respective conferences.

The biggest difference is that Coach Barnum scored the trifecta, he won the upset, was picked Big Sky "Coach of the Year" and the D-1 FCS "Coach of the Year."

No word on who the FBS coach of the year is, but I doubt Mike Leach is among those who are being considered.
Click to expand...

When Barnum was named Big Sky coach of the year, everyone cheered. When Leach was named Pac-12 coach of the year, everyone booed. :lol:

I don't follow FBS football much, so I don't know if there are any others with a good "story" as what Leach did. With the small expectations for the Cougars and for how it started, to beat both Oregon and UCLA, and coming as close as they did in almost beating Stanford, Leach could be in contention.
 
Bruce Barnum: 15 People Who Made a Difference in 2015

http://golocalpdx.com/sports/bruce-barnum-15-people-who-made-a-difference-in-2015" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

When you end a playoff drought that dates back to the beginning of this century, you’ve surely made a difference. Portland State University Head Football Coach Bruce Barnum did just that, turning the Vikings’ season into a Cinderella story during his first year at the helm.
Barnum led the team to a 9-2 regular season record, the best in team history during their time as a member of Division I. The Vikings also toppled two FBS opponents during their incredible 2015 run, defeating including a first-ever win over a Pac-12 team. PSU went 5-1 against nationally-ranked teams and was ranked as high as fifth in the nation at the end of the season.

Barnum is known for a particular style of play, often referred to as "BarnyBall." It features style tough, hard-nosed fundamental football sprinkled with remarkable team chemistry and unity.

As a result of his mercurial season, Barnum’s trophy case is already starting to look a little full. He was named the Big Sky Conference Football Coach of the Year and earned national recognition as the FCS National Coach of the Year by STATS LLC, sponsor of post-season awards for the NCAA I FCS level.

Barnum deflected the praise he received towards his assistant coaching staff after receiving the award.

"Professionally, I was overwhelmed winning the Big Sky award and knowing the quality of the coaches in this conference," said Barnum. "But to move to this level, it's the most humbling thing professionally, knowing the names that have been on that list. I don't see myself on that list, but somebody did. It means, bottom-line, I have the best staff in the country. I did my job by hiring that staff. The Big Sky award told me we had the best staff, and now the country is telling me that. That's bigtime."
 
Barnum receives Coach of the Year honor

http://portlandtribune.com/pt/12-sports/288201-165315-barnum-receives-coach-of-the-year-honor" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Portland State coach Bruce Barnum has been given the ultimate accolade: coach of the year.

At the Football Championship Subdivision awards show in Frisco, Texas, Barnum received the FCS National Coach of the Year award, while safety Patrick Onwuasor finished second in balloting for National Defensive Player of the Year.

They and others were honored on the eve of the FCS national championship game between No. 1 Jacksonville State and four-time defending champion and No. 3 North Dakota State.

Barnum was named Coach of the Year in December, and he received the award Friday from Jerry Moore, the former Appalachian State coach who won three national titles. Barnum led the Vikings to a 9-2 regular-season record; they lost to Northern Iowa in the second round of the FCS playoffs.

Onwuasor, a senior who had nine interceptions, finished second in Defensive Player of the Year voting to Montana defensive end Tyrone Holmes.

Eastern Wasshington's Cooper Kupp, who had a huge game against the Oregon Ducks among his highlights, won Offensive Player of the Year honors.
 
A great read from Kerry Eggers at the Tribune on Barnum at the awards banquet and other happenings in Texas while they were there.

http://portlandtribune.com/pt/12-sports/288780-163470-bruce-barnum-national-coach-of-the-year" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I provided the link to try to give the Trib some hits off of it. The more hits, the more PSU stories they will print as they can see how much of an audience PSU has.

Note at the end where he said he would like to get NDSU on the regular season schedule someday.
 
Barnum guest speaker for annual high school football award banquet
National Football Foundation to hand out scholarships

http://www.columbian.com/news/2016/jan/15/barnum-guest-speaker-for-annual-high-school-football-award-banquet/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
 
forestgreen said:
Barnum guest speaker for annual high school football award banquet
National Football Foundation to hand out scholarships

http://www.columbian.com/news/2016/jan/15/barnum-guest-speaker-for-annual-high-school-football-award-banquet/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Click to expand...

Great news, using the influence of being the national FCS coach of the year. It is sickening how much of a hold EWU has on SW Washington. If Barnum can make some inroads across the river, that can benefit us.
 
Bruce Barnum Audio From The Bald Faced Truth With John Canzano

http://goviks.com/news/2016/5/23/football-bruce-barnum-audio-from-the-bald-faced-truth-with-john-canzano.aspx?path=football

https://soundcloud.com/kxtg-the-bald-faced-truth/bft-interview-bruce-barnum-1

Portland State football coach Bruce Barnum was live on the Bald Faced Truth with John Canzano on Monday afternoon. Barnum talked Portland State football, coaching and the new Viking logo among other topics. If you missed it, here is the link:

Bruce Barnum on The Bald Faced Truth With John Canzano - Live Audio

750 The Game
John Canzano @johncanzanobft
 
Bruce Barnum on Dusty & Cam this morning on 1080AM

http://media.1080thefan.com/a/115343679/bruce-barnum-portland-state-head-football-coach-5-25-16.htm?
 
#BARNYBALL Camp Report Proves Men Not Schools Make The Difference

http://vype.com/northwestprepreport/2016/06/26/barnyball-camp-report-proves-men-not-schools-make-the-difference/
 
Portland St. Coach Bruce Barnum Talks FBS, 2015, Adversity

http://herosports.com/news/ncaa-fcs-mens-football/portland-st-coach-bruce-barnum-talks-fbs-2015-adversity?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Photo&utm_campaign=FCSFootball

EDITOR'S NOTE: HERO Sports kicks off its coverage of FCS media days for all 13 conferences with a Q-and-A from a head coach within each league. Today we talk to the 2015 FCS National Coach of the Year, Bruce Barnum of Portland State. The Big Sky held its media days early this week, as did the Ohio Valley Conference. Next up is Mitch Stewart of Murray State in the OVC.

portland-state-logoBruce Barnum is the second-year head coach at Portland State in the Big Sky, and a long time assistant in the league. In his first season, the Vikings won nine games, beat two FBS opponents--Washington State and North Texas--and also knocked off Big Sky rivals Montana and Eastern Washington. His team made the FCS playoffs with a first-round bye, falling to national power Northern Iowa in its first playoff game. Barnum received FCS Coach of the Year honors after his program's nine-win season following a three-win 2014.

RELATED: Big Sky Preseason All-Conference teams

HERO SPORTS’ BRIAN MCLAUGHLIN: “Coach, your program has endured several tragedies this season, the loss of two players (A.J. Schlatter and Kyle Smith), as well as defensive end Michael Doman’s young son Carder--and we at HERO Sports express our condolences to the Portland State family over those tough losses. How does a program collectively respect the mourning process while also balancing out the need to play on in their memories? What is the ‘right way’ to show respect while also moving forward?”

PORTLAND STATE HEAD COACH BRUCE BARNUM: “It tears your heart out. You know, I have always had so much respect for Portland State, always admired the school. And everyone has been wonderful, from the dean to the students to our counselors. Every time, by the next day, our administrators, the police, the medical examiners were there in support. Whatever we needed, they were there. After Kyle (in April), we were in the middle of spring ball and my captains decided we would be back out there two days later. I didn’t decide it, my captains decided it. And we caught some criticism for that. But when we had our first scrimmage, it was like a national championship game. The sport is an escape for these kids. This year has brought the kids together and they don’t see color any more. My team honestly doesn’t see it. Right now they’re one unit and they love each other. It’s pretty damned cool, I’ll tell you.”

RELATED: Big Sky Preseason Picks

MCLAUGHLIN: “With our first question certainly in mind, your program also has had its share of positives in the past year. What was the after effect of the 9 wins, the big ones over FBS opponents and wins against teams like Montana and Eastern Washington, etc.?Your program missed an 11-0 regular season by five combined points. What has changed in one calendar year and how much pressure do you feel to repeat that performance?”

Bruce-Barnum-PortlandState-footballBARNUM: “Well, I think it has hit, that reality. I need to build a program, not just have one big season, so what am I going to do now? But it also has been nice because along with having a great season, we had a rebrand with NIKE and Phil Knight. Everybody loves our logo and our secondary logo and the new uniforms are sharp. We have a new weight room that just opened and new field turf. Right now? It’s like we went from the outhouse to the penthouse—so we have to keep things ‘there’, and that’s tough. It’s tough because I know who we play and I know my conference is not easy. But I have some great recruiters. I love my staff and I love how my players are recruiters. We’re not going to sit in our ivory tower.”

MCLAUGHLIN: “Alex Kuresa was excellent last year at quarterback, and you have the luxury of having him back. What’s that guy like? What makes him tick?”

BARNUM: “He’s just smart and on top of it. He’s actually a bit of a chameleon. He can step into any room and be the life of the party and give the inaugural address, but he also has a serious side and is our leader. He’s also our best recruiter … He teaches Sunday school and when he speaks to the public, he’s one of the faces of my team. We’ve had tragedies this offseason and he’s the one who has helped us stay together. And not by a text message … he’s over there with the rest of the team. This year we will probably win some games that probably we shouldn’t, and it’ll be because of him. I just thank God he’s not 6-foot-4 and has graduated already.”

MCLAUGHLIN: “Coach, you guys took out Wazzu last year and then went down and thumped North Texas. Have you had any trouble exploring FBS “money” game possibilities since last fall?”

BARNUM: “Yeah, you know, it does make you wonder. Maybe we should have maybe gone to overtime with Wazzu or something different with North Texas, just so we can get these games. For Portland State, we needed a grand slam. It was a roller coaster for a few years before that. It was sort of wavering. Then ‘bam’ the sport became magic again. Yeah, we needed those wins.”

MCLAUGHLIN: “What’s been the fan reaction?”

BARNUM: “It’s been like a snowball. We have this weekly luncheon, and it went from around 100 coming to 300 coming as it went along. When we played Montana, you know we had a big crowd and we haven’t beaten them since the last lunar eclipse on Mars or whatever. Alex (Kuresa) is one of the speakers and it’s a packed house. And he’s up there and he’s done this more than once. I’m standing in the back. And Alex says, ‘I guarantee we will beat Montana tomorrow.' He’s confident, but not cocky. The fans love it.”

MCLAUGHLIN: “So do you get the feeling the other programs have a different view of playing you guys now? Like with Washington and San Jose State this fall, do you think they’re not exactly ‘looking past’ you guys now?”

BruceBarnum-PortlandState-with-son-cooper-wazzou-winBARNUM: “Well, No. 1, those are still FBS teams. And our approach is going to be the same: The biggest thing we’re going to do is we’re not going to lose games before they start, just because of opponents. I know teams and even coaches sometimes do that. Our approach will not be like that. It’s funny, my son Brody is a baseball/football guy and was visiting UDub for a football camp. So he’s up at camp for the overnight deal and he loved it. So at one point they’re sitting in the lounge. And of course I know coach (Chris) Petersen and he’s the nicest guy in the world. They gave a tour, and in their locker room Brody saw they had four games labeled ‘Gold’ games. And one of those ‘Gold’ games was us. We were sitting up there with S.C. (Southern Cal). So I’m not sure we’re going to sneak up on anybody this year. Brody was joking with me and said, ‘By the way Dad, did you ask Coach Petersen exactly what a ‘Gold’ game is?'”

MCLAUGHLIN: “Coach, this is something we’re asking all the coaches we talk to this preseason. When you meet the coaches at midfield prior to the game, what’s that experience like and what do you talk about. Who do you want to meet?”

BARNUM: “When we went down to North Texas, I’ll admit I had looked at our schedule before the season and said ‘I want to meet this guy’ about Dan McCarney. I’m going to tuck my shirt in for that guy. Then our bus breaks down so we were a bit behind and warmups are almost done and he found me before the game. He made it a point to say hi to me before the game and said ‘thanks for coming’. He said ‘I’ve seen what you’ve done’, and he gave me a bunch of compliments and said he said he loved our team and what he sees on film. The respect I have for that coach, Coach McCarney, is through the roof. What he did at Iowa State all those years? Anyway, that’s what college football is all about, experiences like that.”
 
Really good interview with Coach Barnum who talks about his coaching and recruiting philosophies. Also, mentions: Phil Knight, Tim Boyle, Peter Stott, Cade Smith, Davis Alexander and Josh Kraght in the interview.

The DINO COSTA Show
Bruce Barnum - The DINO COSTA Show 06-14-17

https://soundcloud.com/user-245107068
 
Ken Goe, OLive. Barnum has the support from Cleary.

http://www.oregonlive.com/vikings/index.ssf/2017/11/goe_portland_state_ad_valerie.html#incart_river_index
 
bigskyconf said:
Ken Goe, OLive. Barnum has the support from Cleary.

http://www.oregonlive.com/vikings/index.ssf/2017/11/goe_portland_state_ad_valerie.html#incart_river_index
Click to expand...

Hopefully our AD was just joking.
 
Barnum has a five year contract dating back to the 2015 season. He wants to use that time to build something effectual come next contract time. He has a home in Vancouver and really seems to like it here. Personality-wise, he's a good fit here. He wants a winner, we've seen what kind of a winner he can produce. Now, he wants to build a winner for distance that lasts. I think he can do it.
c6144b06dc47065c04e307ec91d9ca30.450x291x38.gif


I would say indicators are an improvement for next year and a real big improvement the year after. Stayed tuned. Remember the WSU game, remember the 9-3 season. He has the talent to build us a lasting winning program and a great foundation for the next coach. This is the year of our humiliation. I expect we plan to lose every game and use that as our motivational foundation.
 
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