Bob Cortese (born March 8, 1943) is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Mesa State College—now known as Colorado Mesa University from 1980 to 1989 at Fort Hays State University from 1990 to 1997, compiling a career college football coaching record of 133–60–6. Cortese was also a head coach in the Arena Football League, with the Oklahoma Wranglers from 2000 to 2001 and the Grand Rapids Rampage in 2004.[1]
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 8, 1943 |
| Playing career | |
| 1964 | Colorado |
| Position(s) | Guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| ?–1974 | Highland HS (CO) |
| 1975–1977 | Arvada HS (CO) |
| 1978–1979 | Colorado (RB/FB) |
| 1980–1989 | Mesa / Mesa State |
| 1990–1997 | Fort Hays State |
| 2000–2001 | Oklahoma Wranglers |
| 2004 | Grand Rapids Rampage |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 133–60–6 (college) 91–22–2 (high school) |
| Tournaments | 7–7 (NAIA D-I playoffs) 0–2 (NCAA D-II playoffs) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 8 RMAC (1982–1983, 1985–1988, 1993, 1995) | |
Head coaching record
College
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mesa / Mesa State Mavericks (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) (1980–1989) | |||||||||
| 1980 | Mesa | 3–6 | 3–5 | T–5th | |||||
| 1981 | Mesa | 7–3 | 6–2 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1982 | Mesa | 11–1–1 | 7–0–1 | 1st | L NAIA Championship | ||||
| 1983 | Mesa | 11–1–1 | 7–0–1 | 1st | L NAIA Championship | ||||
| 1984 | Mesa | 2–8 | 1–7 | 8th | |||||
| 1985 | Mesa | 9–2 | 7–0 | 1st | L NAIA Division I Semifinal | ||||
| 1986 | Mesa | 7–3–1 | 6–0 | 1st | L NAIA Division I Quarterfinal | ||||
| 1987 | Mesa | 11–1 | 6–0 | 1st | L NAIA Division I Semifinal | ||||
| 1988 | Mesa State | 8–2 | 5–0 | 1st | L NAIA Division I First Round | ||||
| 1989 | Mesa State | 9–1 | 6–1 | 2nd | |||||
| Mesa / Mesa State: | 78–28–2 | 54–15–2 | |||||||
| Fort Hays State Tigers (NAIA Division I independent) (1990) | |||||||||
| 1990 | Fort Hays State | 8–4 | L NAIA Division I Quarterfinal | ||||||
| Fort Hays State Tigers (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) (1991–1997) | |||||||||
| 1991 | Fort Hays State | 8–3 | 4–2 | 2nd | |||||
| 1992 | Fort Hays State | 6–5 | 6–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1993 | Fort Hays State | 8–4 | 6–1 | 1st | L NCAA Division II First Round | ||||
| 1994 | Fort Hays State | 5–5–1 | 5–1–1 | 2nd | |||||
| 1995 | Fort Hays State | 8–2–2 | 6–0–1 | T–1st | L NCAA Division II First Round | ||||
| 1996 | Fort Hays State | 7–3 | 5–3 | T–3rd | |||||
| 1997 | Fort Hays State | 5–6 | 4–4 | 5th | |||||
| Fort Hays State: | 55–32–3 | 35–12–2 | |||||||
| Total: | 133–60–6 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
Arena Football League
| Team | Year | Regular Season | Post Season | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| OKW | 2000 | 7 | 7 | .500 | 3rd in AC Western | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost to San Jose SaberCats in Conference Semifinals. |
| OKW | 2001 | 5 | 9 | .357 | 4th in AC Western | 0 | 0 | .000 | – |
| OKW Total | 12 | 16 | .429 | – | 1 | 1 | .500 | ||
| GRR | 2004 | 1 | 7 | .125 | 5th in AC Central | 0 | 0 | .000 | – |
| GRR Total | 1 | 7 | .125 | – | 0 | 0 | – | ||
| Total[2] | 13 | 23 | .361 | 1 | 1 | .500 | |||