Grove City College has hired Mike Hoyt as defensive coordinator for the Wolverine football program and as the athletic department’s head strength and conditioning coach.
Hoyt comes to Grove City after spending the last four seasons as head football coach at McDaniel College, an NCAA Division III institution in Westminster, Md., where he increased the size of the Green Terror’s roster by over 30 percent as well as the program’s overall grade-point average.
Hoyt implemented programs that emphasized leadership and character development throughout the McDaniel football team. He taught exercise science classes at McDaniel and also established the school’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) chapter.
“We are very blessed here at Grove City College to bring in a man like Mike Hoyt to join our family,” head football coach Andrew DiDonato ’10 said. “He is a man of faith who has head coaching experience and has been a successful defensive coordinator, strength and conditioning coach and educator. He is also a proven recruiter and we are excited for Coach Hoyt to bring these experiences to Grove City.”
Prior to his appointment at McDaniel, Hoyt spent eight seasons (2004-2011) as associate head coach, defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at Albright College in Reading, Pa. The Lions qualified for postseason play five times during Hoyt’s tenure.
In 2009, Albright went 11-2 overall, won the Middle Atlantic Conference title and advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament quarterfinals. Two years later, the American Football Coaches Association named Hoyt as a finalist for its prestigious Assistant Coach of the Year award.
Hoyt also spent eight years as Albright’s strength and conditioning coach, where he worked with 21 varsity sports programs. In addition, he advised Albright’s FCA chapter.
He has also coached at Canisius, Millersville and Franklin & Marshall. Hoyt served as head football coach at Solanco High School, a Class AAAA program in Quarryville, Pa., during the 1999 and 2000 seasons.
Hoyt graduated from Canisius College in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education. He then earned his master’s degree in physical education at Canisius in 1997. Hoyt also earned his Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist accreditation from the National Strength Coaches Association.