Recruits: Missouri, Florida 

Fred Gladney completed his second year on the Valpo coaching staff in Fall 2021, serving as the team’s wide receivers coach.

In his second season with the program, Gladney was part of a Valpo coaching staff that led the team to its second straight season with a Pioneer Football League record of .500 or better during the Fall 2021 campaign. That marked the first time Valpo had achieved that feat in consecutive seasons since 1999 and 2000. The Beacons won four Pioneer Football League games in the same season for just the third time ever (2017 and Spring 2021) and four league games in any conference for just the third time since 1968.

Gladney’s Fall 2021 position group featured Ollie Reese, who closed out his collegiate career by achieving All-PFL Honorable Mention status.

Gladney was part of an offensive staff that helped Valpo score 298 points during the Fall 2021 campaign, the fifth most in program history. During the Nov. 6 game vs. Presbyterian and the Nov. 13 game vs. Butler, Valpo totaled 112 points in a two-game span, tying the 2017 squad (vs. Marist, vs. Morehead State) for the program’s most points over two games since 1985. The team’s 65 points in the win over Presbyterian marked its highest single-game scoring output since 1996 and the fifth-highest single-game scoring output in program history.

Gladney was on staff in Spring 2021 as Valpo posted its best winning percentage since 2003 and tied for the squad’s best winning percentage since 1999. The team garnered Pioneer Football League runner-up honors, the program’s highest finish in the league standings since the PFL championship season of 2003.

Gladney returned to his alma mater for the 2020-2021 season after spending the previous year at MacMurray College in Jacksonville, Ill., where he served as the wide receivers/tight ends coach in addition to coordinating the program’s social media efforts and on-campus recruiting. He previously worked as the wide receivers coach at Wisconsin Lutheran from March 2016 to March 2019.

Gladney played in 30 games with the Brown & Gold spanning from 2011-2014. During that time, he accrued 974 receiving yards, 89 receptions and six touchdown catches.

What They’re Saying About Coach Gladney

“This is a great hire by Coach Fox and his staff. Coach Gladney will bring great energy and enthusiasm as an accomplished alum who will work like it all depends on him.” -Kasey Teegardin, Indiana University Special Teams Coordinator/Defensive Backs Coach

“I’ve had the pleasure of coaching Fred as a player along with the opportunity to develop a lasting relationship with him beyond his playing days. As a player, Fred was a very reliable playmaker, but more importantly he was a worker who earned everything that he got. There is no doubt in my mind that he will be successful in developing wideouts who play hard, understand offensive football and make plays when they are available to them.” -Alex Bailey, Ball State University Wide Receivers Coach