Joe Fussell joined the Crusader coaching staff in 2008 as an assistant coach and will tutor the running backs for the Brown and Gold for the second straight year.

In his first season with the Brown and Gold, Fussell’s ground game led the Pioneer Football League averaging 175.2 yards per game.  One of his running backs, Ross Wiemer, finished the year second in the conference in rushing, on his way to earning Second Team All-PFL accolades.

Fussell arrived at Valpo with 20 years of head coaching experience, including 14 at Triton Central High School and six seasons at Lake Station High School in Indiana.  At Triton Central, Fussell won two sectional titles and three conference championships, and was a three-time Indianapolis News Metro Football Coach of the Year.

In addition, Fussell served as the Region 8 Indiana Football Coaches Association Director and was the North-South All-Star game chairman.

Fussell is currently a high school physical education and health instructor at Lake Station Junior/Senior High School where he has been teaching since 2002.  

Fussell is a 1972 graduate of Indiana University with a degree from the HPER school, and earned his master’s degree in the same program from Indiana in 1975.  He also spent four years as an United States Air Force Medic.

Joe and his wife, Christina Marie, have two grown children, Sarah and Joanna as well as three grandchildren.