Northwestern University Athletics
Fitzgerald Announces New Roles for Dunnagan, Schmidt
4/22/2021 4:05:00 PM | Football
EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern's Dan and Susan Jones Family Head Football Coach Pat Fitzgerald announced a pair of off-the-field staff promotions, elevating Jacob Schmidt to the Director of Football Operations role and Darby Dunnagan to the program's Director of Player Development position.
After a remarkable playing career at Northwestern that saw him go from walk-on to starting running back, Schmidt was hired as the Wildcats' Director of Player Development in March of 2012. The Rhinelander, Wisconsin, native spent the last nine years as the architect of various aspects of players' off-the-field experience at Northwestern, including NU's Big Brother program that matches current student-athletes with Northwestern Football alumni in the professional world. He also worked closely with the offices of Alumni Relations and Development in addition to the David G. Kabiller NU for Life Program. In his new position, Schmidt is responsible for the organization of the day-to-day operations of the program.
Dunnagan came to Northwestern in July of 2013 as the program's Director of Video Operations after spending the previous six years in the same role at Memphis. The Rural Retreat, Virginia, native was responsible for the supervision of Northwestern's football video staff, coordinating recordings of every practice and providing practice and opponent footage to the coaching staff. She also contributes to the football program's efforts related to shooting and editing post-production features on players and special events. She served as the President of the Collegiate Sports Video Association from 2018-20 and was recently named the 2020-21 Big Ten Conference Video Coordinator of the Year by the organization. In her new role, she will be responsible for preparing Northwestern Football student-athletes for life after sport. Her efforts will be focused on professional development and life-skills curriculum, employer relations and internship coordination, and all former player relations and programming. Additionally, her role serves as the program's NFL liaison.
Northwestern football concludes its spring ball practice season on Saturday, April 24. The Wildcats are scheduled to open the 2021 season on Sept. 4 when they welcome Michigan State to Ryan Field.
After a remarkable playing career at Northwestern that saw him go from walk-on to starting running back, Schmidt was hired as the Wildcats' Director of Player Development in March of 2012. The Rhinelander, Wisconsin, native spent the last nine years as the architect of various aspects of players' off-the-field experience at Northwestern, including NU's Big Brother program that matches current student-athletes with Northwestern Football alumni in the professional world. He also worked closely with the offices of Alumni Relations and Development in addition to the David G. Kabiller NU for Life Program. In his new position, Schmidt is responsible for the organization of the day-to-day operations of the program.
Dunnagan came to Northwestern in July of 2013 as the program's Director of Video Operations after spending the previous six years in the same role at Memphis. The Rural Retreat, Virginia, native was responsible for the supervision of Northwestern's football video staff, coordinating recordings of every practice and providing practice and opponent footage to the coaching staff. She also contributes to the football program's efforts related to shooting and editing post-production features on players and special events. She served as the President of the Collegiate Sports Video Association from 2018-20 and was recently named the 2020-21 Big Ten Conference Video Coordinator of the Year by the organization. In her new role, she will be responsible for preparing Northwestern Football student-athletes for life after sport. Her efforts will be focused on professional development and life-skills curriculum, employer relations and internship coordination, and all former player relations and programming. Additionally, her role serves as the program's NFL liaison.
Northwestern football concludes its spring ball practice season on Saturday, April 24. The Wildcats are scheduled to open the 2021 season on Sept. 4 when they welcome Michigan State to Ryan Field.
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