Assistant AD for Football Performance, Central Michigan University
Coach Dave Lawson joined the ETSU family at the start of the 2021 spring season. Coach Lawson serves as the Assistant Athletic Director for Football Performance for the ETSU Buccaneers. The Buccaneers are the 2021 Southern Conference Football Champions.
Prior to his arrival in Johnson City, Coach Lawson was the Olympic Sports Performance Director at VMI in Lexington, Va.
Before his stop in Lexington, Lawson served as Director of Strength and Conditioning at the University of Tennessee from 2012 to 2016, developing strength and conditioning programs for the Volunteer football team and monitoring programs for the additional 22 sports teams.
Throughout his career, Lawson has served as strength coach for football teams that have participated in 12 bowl games and post season playoffs and captured five conference titles and basketball teams that have reached both NCAA and NIT tournament play. He has coached over 20+ Strength and Conditioning All-Americans, multiple football All-Americans, and 100+ football players either drafted or signed as free agents by the NFL.
Lawson served three years (2010-12) at University of Cincinnati as the Assistant Athletic Director of Performance monitoring all the sports teams and as Director of Football strength and conditioning when the Bearcats won two Big East football championships.
Coach Lawson worked at Central Michigan University for three seasons (2007-09) where he oversaw and directed the strength and conditioning programs for all 16 CMU varsity athletic programs. Central Michigan teams claimed eight conference championships during his tenure. Including 2 MAC Football Conference Championships
Lawson spent six years (2001-06) as head strength and conditioning coach at Eastern Michigan University. It was Lawson's first Division I head strength coach post, and Eagle teams captured 24 total athletic championships during his tenure heading up the strength and conditioning programs.
Coach Lawson began working at West Virginia University in 1994 under MSCC Allan Johnson as a strength and conditioning graduate assistant and was later named assistant strength and conditioning coach in 1995; a post he held until 2001.
During this time at WVU, Lawson worked with five football teams that played in post-season bowl games, basketball teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament and National Invitational Tournaments, a Swimming and Diving team that won the Atlantic-10 Championship, and a baseball team which participated in post-season play and also won the Big East Championship.
Lawson earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in physical education from West Virginia Tech in 1992 and a Master of Science degree in physical education from West Virginia University in 1995. Lawson began his career as an undergraduate at West Virginia Tech as a student assistant on both the strength and conditioning staff and football coaching staff. He was then named head strength and conditioning coach at his alma mater and served as an assistant on the football staff handling defensive lineman and special teams duties in 1992 and 1993.
Dave is a certified strength and conditioning coach by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches association and a certified speed specialist by the NASE. He has been privileged to work with top level athletes that have moved on to the professional ranks, but still cherishes the opportunity to help develop the walk-on athlete to the scholarship athlete.
Dave has experience working on all levels--from Junior High to NCAA-Division I. This experience has helped him develop and motivate student-athletes. He is appreciative of the opportunity he had to work under Coach Allan Johnson at WVU. He is also thankful for those assistants that have worked under him and shown loyalty and dedication in their efforts.
Dave and his wife, Shannon, have four wonderful children: BrittLeigh, Emma, Maggie, and James David.
