Part of college football’s highly anticipated bowl season, the LendingTree Bowl was held near the United States Sports Academy campus in December 2021. Academy alumnus Fred Reed – M.S.S. Sports Management 2002 – is the defensive pass game coordinator and safeties coach for Eastern Michigan University, who played the Liberty University Flames at the game in Mobile, Ala.
Reed’s 26-year coaching career includes 24 seasons in the college ranks and two years in the National Football League. He just finished his sixth season at EMU, and after the LendingTree Bowl he reflected on how his Academy education benefitted his career.
“The Academy helped me be qualified for more jobs,” Reed said. “I enjoyed the Academy because it gave me the opportunity to continue to work in my profession [while in school] and to advance my degree.”
Prior to joining the EMU staff, Reed spent the previous three seasons as an assistant coach at Syracuse University. He has made coaching stops at Ohio University, the University of Buffalo, the University of Nebraska-Omaha, Michigan Technological Institute, the University of Minnesota-Morris and the University of South Dakota. He also coached at the professional level in 2006-07 as a defensive assistant coach with the NFL’s Detroit Lions, where he coached safeties.
“I am proud to be an alumnus of the United States Sports Academy and feel the education I received there prepared me to understand all facets of the sports industry and its impact on society,” Reed said. “The best part of earning my degree from an institution that focuses only on sports was learning from professors who have worked in the industry and share ideals with others with similar interest.”
Reed’s resume includes seven bowl games and three conference championships, and he has coached four All-Americans, 13 first-team all-conference selections, and developed 11 NFL prospects.
A native of Harvey, Illinois, Reed is a 1994 graduate of Colorado Mesa University with a bachelor’s degree in recreation management. He played free safety for the Mavericks from 1991-92.
