Arkansas Tech University Athletics

A veteran coach with over 20 years of experience across the NCAA DII, NAIA, NJCAA and high school football, Chad Adams is set to make his return to the collegiate level as the defensive line coach at Tech after spending the last four years coaching defenses in the prep ranks in Texas.
 
No stranger to the GAC, Adams has made previous stops at Northwestern Oklahoma, Ouachita Baptist and Southern Arkansas. At all three of those, Adams led the defensive efforts, serving as the program’s defensive coordinator.
 
Adams’ most-recent collegiate stint came at SAU where his defenses consistently were in the top tier of the GAC and ranked highly in the region and nation. In his first two years, Adams helped lead the Muleriders to a pair of eight-win seasons and consecutive bowl game appearances.
 
Prior to his time at SAU, Adams had a two-year stint as defensive coordinator at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Fla. While there, Adams helped lead the Fire to a 15-5 overall record, a pair of conference championships, and consecutive appearances in the NAIA National Championship Series playoffs.
 
Before his stint at Southeastern, Adams headed up the defense for three seasons at Ouachita Baptist. From 2013-2015, Adams helped the Tigers go 24-8 overall and 24-7 in the Great American Conference. In 2014, Ouachita went undefeated in the regular season (10-0) en route to claiming their first outright conference title and making their first NCAA Division II Playoff appearance as well after earning a first-round bye.
 
Statistically, Adams’ defenses at Ouachita ranked among the top-four in the GAC each year in scoring defense.
 
Before Ouachita, Adams had a year-long stop as the assistant head coach and co-defensive coordinator at Hutchinson Community College in 2012. Prior to that, Adams spent four seasons as the DC at Northwestern Oklahoma State from 2008-2011 and helped the Rangers begin their transition from NAIA to NCAA DII. Additionally, five years prior to being the DC at NWOSU, Adams was there as a graduate assistant for the 2003 season that saw the Rangers finish runner-up in NAIA after falling in that year’s National Championship game.
 
Adams’ additional coaching experience has seen him spend time at Fort Scott Community College (2006-07), the University of Central Missouri (2005), and Coffeyville Community College (2004).
 
Overall, for his career, Adams has appeared in six national playoffs and coached in five bowl games.