Wisconsin-Whitewater coach Kevin Bullis retiring after 7 seasons, 78 wins

WHITEWATER, Wis. -- Wisconsin-Whitewater football coach Kevin Bullis has retired after posting a 78-13 record in seven seasons at the Division III program, school officials announced Tuesday.

Wisconsin-Whitewater was an NCAA Division III runner-up under Bullis in 2019 and lost in the semifinals in 2015, 2018 and 2021. The Warhawks went 8-3 this season and fell 33-28 to Aurora in the first round of the playoffs.

Bullis posted a 45-4 mark in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference competition.

"It has been an honor and pleasure coaching and teaching in the Warhawk football program and UW-Whitewater," Bullis said in a statement. "I will greatly miss the students and staff. Kathy [his wife] and I have lived truly amazing coaching lives, and it is time for us to live life."

Jace Rindahl, the defensive coordinator on Bullis' staff, has been named interim head coach. School officials said a national search for Bullis' permanent successor would begin early in 2023.

Bullis joined Wisconsin-Whitewater in 2008 as an assistant on a staff headed by Lance Leipold, now the head coach at Kansas. During his run as an assistant coach on Leipold's staff, Wisconsin-Whitewater won national titles in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014.

Bullis was named head coach in 2015 after Leipold left for Buffalo. Wisconsin-Whitewater played seven seasons under Bullis, who also led the program in 2020 when there wasn't any Division III football played due to the pandemic.

"Kevin is a great coach and an even better person," athletic director Ryan Callahan said in a statement. "The life lessons he taught his student-athletes, coaches and colleagues will continue to be felt for years to come."