ABERDEEN, S.D. – Northern State University athletic officials have announced the first four finalists for the head football coaching position.  All four candidates will be on campus within the next two weeks for in-person meetings with the search committee, coaching staff and current players.  Finalists include Mike Aldrich, Luke Meadows, Matt Entz and Tom Dosch.  All four currently hold active coaching positions at various institutions.

Aldrich is currently an assistant coach at Augustana, holding down the position of defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator for the Vikings.  There, he helped guide the team to back-to-back 8-win seasons and a berth in the Mineral Water Bowl in both 2008-09.  The Vikings ranked in the top 28 in the nation in rushing defense both seasons.  In his tenure with the Vikings, Aldrich has coached players to 16 defensive All-Conference, two All-Region and two All-American honors (with the 2009 All-Region and All-American honors yet to be announced).  Aldrich also served as the head coach of the Sioux Falls Storm of the National Indoor Football league for two seasons, before returning as the defensive coordinator in 2005.  There, he helped guide the team to 40 straight wins and four league championships.

Meadows has spent the past eight seasons at South Dakota State and is currently the Associate Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator for the Jackrabbits.  Meadows has spent the majority of his coaching career at SDSU, beginning in 1999.  He left the Jackrabbits for two seasons at Wartburg College (Iowa) before returning to SDSU in 2002, where he has taken on increasing responsibilities regarding recruiting and the offensive side of the ball.  Meadows spent four years as the recruiting coordinator and was also the co-offensive coordinator from 2004-2007.  He was named as Associate Head Coach in 2005 and took over sole responsibility of the offensive coordinator duties in 2008.  With Meadows on the coaching staff, SDSU has established 11 team single-game and single-season offensive records, including rolling up 689 yards of total offense in the 2005 Hobo Day victory over Missouri-Rolla. Jackrabbit players he has coached also have established 30 new individual school records during his tenure.

Entz is also in his eighth season at fellow Northern Sun school Winona State.  He currently holds the position of assistant head coach/Co-Defensive Coordinator for the Warriors, working specifically with the linebackers.  The Warriors have improved nearly every year of his tenure, reaching the NCAA playoffs in both 2006 and 2007.  He was also named as the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) 2008 Division II Assistant Coach of the Year.  In his first seven seasons with the Warriors, Entz coached eight All-Americans and 53 All-NSIC selections.

Dosch recently completed his second season as the Inside Linebackers Coach/Special Teams Coordinator at Southern Illinois.  The Salukis just finished their 2009 NCAA play-off run, winning their opening-round game against Eastern Illinois before falling last weekend to William & Mary.  In his first season, Dosch guided a top return game that featured three kickoffs returned for touchdowns, and was instrumental in the development of all-conference linebacker Brandin Jordan.  Prior to SIU, Dosch was the head coach at Jamestown for four years, going 25-17 with the Jimmies, reaching the NAIA playoffs twice and a national ranking as high as No. 6 in 2007.  Before coming to Jamestown, Dosch spent eight seasons at the University of North Dakota as the defensive line/outside linebackers coach.  The Sioux went 92-27 in that span with 20 all-conference selections and one national championship (2001).