Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Jeff Sokol has helped rewrite the Rose-Hulman football record book in his 14 years as head coach, including leading the Fightin’ Engineers to their first two NCAA Division III playoff appearances in 2016 and 2021.  He is also a 4-time HCAC Coach of the Year selection (2013, 2016, 2020, 2021).     

Sokol has a career record of 89-48 at Rose-Hulman, including a 79-24 mark in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference games.  He has led the Fightin’ Engineers to three HCAC regular season championships, two NCAA Division III Playoff appearances, and six HCAC runner-up finishes since 2013.

In 2013, Rose-Hulman won seven of eight conference games to earn a share of the conference championship.  The Fightin’ Engineers completed their largest in-game rally since 1988 by turning a 20-0 deficit into a 34-26 victory at Bluffton University. 

In 2016, Rose-Hulman defeated a nationally ranked team for the first time since 1993, when the Engineers won 23-22 at No. 14 Franklin in October.  The effort proved the tiebreaker for an NCAA Division III Playoff bid between this year’s conference co-championship teams. 

In 2021, Rose-Hulman rolled through the HCAC schedule unbeaten by averaging 51 points per game in league play.  The league championship came down to a winner take all game on the season’s final week, and Rose-Hulman topped Mount St. Joseph 58-21 to win the outright title and earn a trip to the NCAA Playoffs.

Sokol has led four Fightin’ Engineer teams since 2015 to 8-win seasons, just one victory shy of the Rose-Hulman single-season school record of 9 wins.

Sokol came to Rose-Hulman after spending 11 seasons as offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator at the University of Chicago, a member of NCAA Division III and the University Athletic Association.  

The Maroons captured UAA championships in 2000, 2005 and 2010, while recording three runner-up league finishes during his 11 years as coordinator under head coach Dick Maloney. Chicago established a modern era school record with eight wins in 2010, including victories over Case Western Reserve and Washington University to win the league title.     

Prior to his Chicago experience, Sokol spent one season at fellow UAA member Case Western Reserve University as the recruiting coordinator and defensive backs coach.  He also spent two seasons as a graduate assistant coach at Defiance College and one year as wide receivers coach at Kalamazoo College. 

Sokol earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Kalamazoo in 1996 and completed a master’s degree in education from Defiance in 1999.  He and his wife Alison are the parents of Walter and Teddy.