Houston Names Steele Director of Football Administration

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison football Head Coach Mike Houston has appointed Dale Steele as the program's Director of Football Administration for the 2016 season, Houston announced Thursday.

In this role, Steele will also serve as the program's recruiting coordinator. He is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the JMU football program, which includes providing direct support to Coach Houston and the staff both on campus and around the community.

Steele will also coordinate and schedule team travel, recruiting visits, meetings and community activities for the Dukes. He will also serve as a liaison to other departments within the university as it pertains to the team and student-athletes.

"Dale is very close to many members of our staff, including myself," Houston said. "He brings a tremendous amount of experience and knowledge to this position, so I'm excited to have him on our staff at JMU."

Steele comes to Harrisonburg with a wealth of football knowledge, after nearly four decades of experience, ranging from football administration all the way up to being a head coach at the Football Championship Subdivision level.

Most recently, Steele was Director of Football Administration for three seasons at East Carolina (2013-15). In that role he oversaw on-campus recruiting and program marketing, as well as being the liaison with the department's compliance and student development divisions. This was his second stretch with the Pirates, having served as an offensive assistant and recruiting coordinator for six seasons (1989-94). Prior to ECU, Steele spent the spring season as the offensive coordinator at Gardner-Webb (2013).

Before his brief stint at GWU, he helped resurrect the Campbell football program in 2006 after a 50-year hiatus, guiding the Fighting Camels as the head coach for five seasons (2008-12). After winning just seven games over the first three seasons, Steele guided Campbell to its first winning season in 2011 with a 6-5 overall record, which included a 5-3 mark in the Pioneer League to finish fourth in the conference standings. In three of his seasons at the helm, Campbell ranked amongst the top-20 rushing leaders in FCS.

Steele's additional collegiate coaching stops included Elon, ETSU, Baylor, Kansas State, Wichita State, Tulane, Wisconsin and Ball State. The Prattville, Ala., native played football for three seasons at South Carolina, earning his bachelor's degree in physical education in 1976. He also earned a master's degree in physical education from Ball State in 1978.

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