St. Thomas University Bobcats

PERSONAL 
Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio
Education: Bachelor of Arts in Physical Education (Mount Union, 2001); Masters’ of Arts and Teaching (Coe College, 2004)
Family: Stephanie (Wife), Isabella (Daughter), Raegan (Daughter), Maggie (Daughter) and Isaiah (Son)

COACHING EXPERIENCE
St. Thomas University (Fla.) - Head Coach (2019-Present)
Savannah State College (Ga.) - Offensive Coordinator (2016-18)
Notre Dame College (Ohio) - Offensive Coordinator (2009-14) ; Head Coach (2015)
Ohio Northern University - Co-Offensive coordinator (2006-09)
Tri-State University (Ind.) - Offensive Line Coach, Offensive Coordinator and Assistant Head Coach (2004-06)
Coe College (Iowa) -  Offensive Line Coach and Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coordinator (2001-04)

BIOGRAPHY
William “Bill” Rychel was announced as the first Head Football Coach in St. Thomas University history on October 15^th, 2018 following the announcement of the inaugural season and football program by President David A. Armstrong J.D. on August 29^th, 2018. Rychel was promoted to Athletic Director in May 2020. 

Rychel brings a wealth of coaching experience to St. Thomas and is no stranger to building programs from the ground-up. President Armstrong and Rychel have worked together in the past, as the pair previously established the football program at Notre Dame College.

The Bobcats' climb within the NAIA ranks hit another milestone during the 2024 campaign, cracking the top-10 in the National Rankings and getting as high as No. 5 in the poll. For the second-consecutive year the Bobcats made it to the second round of the NAIA National Championship, earning a first-round bye before hosting a second round contest.

STU etched their name in Florida Sports during the 2024 campaign with Rontavious Farmer becoming the Florida Collegiate record holder for career rushing yards. He ended his Bobcat career as a consensus All-American, joined on the  American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Associated Press, Victory Sports Network and Walker Camp Football Foundation All-American lists by Nicholas Engler. Sun Conference Offenseive Player of the Year David Hayes earned All-American status from three publications, with Caleb Walker (two), Kendall Wilson II (two) and Zachary Alvarez (one) all earning the honor.

Highlighted by their NAIA National Championship debut, the Bobcats further solidified themselves as contenders during the 2023 campaign. Led by the NAIA-leader in total rushing yards Farmer, STU's high-octane offense eclipsed 50 points five times including 55 points in a victory over Reinhardt in the NAIA Opening Round.

STU's Farmer and Engler were named the 2023 Sun Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year respectively, with Hayes adding Receiver of the Year distinction.

Opening the season with a five-point setback at National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I's Butler University the Bobcats created a resume that put them in discussion for the NAIA National Championship field in 2022.

Jayce Collins (Offensive Lineman), Engler (Defensive Lineman) and Sidney Porter (Defensive Back) brought home major Sun Conference awards in 2022.

Setting the program record for win in a single season, the Bobcats opened the 2021 campaign with eight-straight wins en route to a 9-2 season.

In the program's second season STU turned out its first winning campaign, going 4-3 and winning each of the final three games. Led by Rychel, Bobcat Football placed a program record 12 student-athletes on the All-Mid-South teams, with six representatives on both the first and second-teams. Additionally, St. Thomas had ten student-athletes recognized to the All-Academic team, and Tyler Thomas was recognized as the Champion of Character honoree for St. Thomas. 

Sidney Porter became the first NAIA/AFCA All-American, being selected as an Honorable Mention, following the season. 

In his first season at St. Thomas University, Rychel guided the first-year Bobcats to a 4-6 record, winning the first game in program history on September 14, 2019, against Union College (45-20). The Bobcats earned the first Mid-South Conference win in program history against Warner (38-31) in overtime on November 2, 2019. STU ended the program's inaugural campaign with the first home win in program history, defeating Faulkner University 24-14 on November 16. 

Following the season, five St. Thomas University Football players were named to the Mid-South Conference teams, with John Israel - Cooper being highlighted as the Mid-South Conference Offensive Freshman of the Year. Donnell Bennet III, Jayson Contreras and Michael Torrence were named to the Mid-South Conference First-Team, while Israel - Cooper and Kahlil Bryan earned Second-Team recognition. 

Rychel and St. Thomas continued the positive momentum from the season into the off-season, highlighted by the second recruiting class in program history. "Bobcat2" brought in over 80 incoming commitments.

PLAYING HISTORY
Coach Rychel played collegiately at Mount Union College and was part of an exceptional run of success. Mount Union won four Conference titles, three National Championships with Rychel on the team, while individually, Rychel was named as an All-American, two-time All-Conference player and an Academic All-Conference student-athlete.
 

Year	Overall	Win Pct.	Conference	Win Pct.	Post-Season
2015 (NDC)	5 - 6	.455	5 - 5 MEC	.500
2019	4 - 6	.400	2 - 4 MSC	.333
2020	4 - 3	.571	3 - 2 MSC	.600
2021	9 - 2	.818	4 - 2 MSC	.667
2022	9 - 2	.818	5 - 1 SUN	.833	Finished ranked #15
2023	9 - 4	.692	6 - 1 SUN	.857	NAIA FCS Second Round
2024	9 - 2	.818	6 - 1 SUN	.857	NAIA FCS Second Round
7 Seasons	49 - 24	.671	31 - 16	.660
STU (6yr)	44 - 18	.710	26 - 11	.703