Faith Lutheran is excited to announce Mike Sanford, Sr. as its new Varsity Head Football Coach.
Faith Lutheran is excited to announce Mike Sanford, Sr. as its new Varsity Head Football Coach. Coach Sanford’s coaching experiences include time as the Head Football Coach at UNLV and Indiana State University, as well as college assistant positions at Purdue, USC, Notre Dame, and Stanford. During the 2003 and 2004 seasons, Coach Sanford was the Offensive Coordinator at Utah, concluding his time there with a 12-0 season and quarterback Alex Smith winning the Heisman Trophy. Coach Sanford also served as the Wide Receivers Coach for the San Diego Chargers during three seasons between 1999 and 2001. Mike is known throughout the country for his Christian beliefs, strong leadership, impeccable character, and innovative offenses.
“Mike’s pedigree as a successful college football coach speaks for itself,” Dr. Buuck said. “He is a man of deep faith and superb gridiron knowledge, and we believe he will not only be a great fit at Faith Lutheran but a tremendous influence on our student-athletes, just as Coach Fox was.”
Coach Sanford met his wife Melinda in a bible study at USC where he played quarterback for the Trojans. Melinda's faith in Jesus, positive nature, unending energy, intelligence, and love of football has made their marriage a model for many in college football. Their experiences in football and their willingness to share their Christian faith make them a perfect fit for Faith Lutheran’s mission of “Everyone Prepared! Everyone Saved!”
Faith Lutheran’s players will benefit from Coach Sanford’s connections at all levels of college football. One of those connections is especially meaningful. Their son, Mike Sanford, Jr. is currently the Offensive Coordinator for the University of Minnesota’s Golden Gopher football team.
Please join us in welcoming the Sanfords to Faith Lutheran Middle School & High School and Las Vegas. Coach Sanford will begin building his coaching staff in March and will start full-time at Faith Lutheran in mid-April. He will also serve as the Associate Director of Development in the Faith Lutheran Advancement Office.
Statement from new Faith Lutheran Head Football Coach, Mike Sanford.
“My wife and I are thrilled about the opportunity that I have to serve as the Head Football Coach and Associate Director of Development at Faith Lutheran Middle School & High School as we believe strongly in the school’s mission. I’m very excited about the future of the football program and the opportunity to compete at the 5A Division level for the first time in school history.”
Faith Lutheran Middle School & High School is the largest private school in Nevada and largest Lutheran school in the United States, serving over 1,900 students from the Las Vegas Valley and abroad. Located on a 50-acre state-of-the-art campus near Downtown Summerlin, the school offers advanced middle school and high school college preparatory curriculum and extensive athletic, fine arts, and after school activities in a distinctively Christian environment. Faith Lutheran’s unique high school academies program includes STEM, Justice & Advocacy, Business & Entrepreneurship, Film & Broadcast, Hospitality & Tourism, Christ Academy and the Conservatory of Fine Arts. The school is dedicated to its mission statement of Everyone Prepared! Everyone Saved! and is fueled by its core values of Family, Academics, Innovation, Truth, and High Achievement. Faith Lutheran is accredited by AdvancED and the National Lutheran Schools Accreditation. Learn more at www.FaithLutheranLV.org
For more information, visit www.FaithLutheranLV.org. For media inquiries, contact Susan Somers, managing partner at FM marketing LLC, at susan@fmmpr.com or 702-249-9900.
