Bolivar, Mo. – SBU Football Head Coach Paul Hansen announces the addition of three new members to his coaching staff. Coach Hansen was announced as the 10^th SBU Head Football Coach on February 26^th.
 
"I'm really excited to have our coaching staff complete. The whole staff has experience as a player and coach. We are excited to get going and help get SBU football to the top of the GLVC." – Coach Hansen said.
 
The first new member to his staff is Donovan Newman who will be the Wide Receivers coach. He joins the Bearcats after being the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator for Division III Millsaps College. During his one season at Millsaps, he helped coached two All-Conference Honor awards. Prior to Millsaps, he spent two seasons as an offensive quality control coach at Houston Christian University working with both quarterbacks and wide receivers. He helped lead the program to their first winning season in school history. During college he played quarterback and earned his Bachelor of Science in interdisciplinary studies from North American University in 2022.
 
The next member to join Coach Hansen's staff is Evangel alumni Ethan Smith as the Special Teams Coordinator and Defensive Line Coach. He comes to the Bearcats after two seasons at Rock Bridge High School. During his three seasons at Rock Bridge, his defense averaged 18.7 PPG, recording 83 takeaways and 22 defensive touchdowns. Smith helped lead the team to back-to-back district champs and two straight quarterfinals appearances. Prior to Rock Bridge HS, he coached at his Alma Mater as a linebackers coach from 2019-2022. Smith Contributed to one of the best ranked defenses in the country with top-5 rankings in total defense and total pass defense during two of his seasons. He recruited nine All-Conference athletes and 3 All-American selections. One of those recruits was a 2x Conference Player of the Year, 2x All-American, and Cliff Harris award finalist.
 
Kenny Thomason is the next coach joining Hansen's staff as the Offensive Line Coach/Run Game Coordinator. He joins Southwest Baptist after two years as the Offensive Line Coach at Missouri Baptist University. While there he helped turn the program around to their first winning season in over 10 years. Thomason was an All-American honorable mention as a player for the McKendree Bearcats, a fellow GLVC member. He played in 45 games at right tackle from 2018-22, starting in all 45. In his final season, he was named a D2Football.com Elite 100 member and a Gene Upshaw Division II Lineman of the Year Award nominee.