Joe Battaglia begins his first season as a secondary coach for Midwestern State.
Battaglia joins the Mustangs after two seasons as defensive coordinator at NCAA Division III Juniata College of Huntingdon, Pa.
Under Battaglia’s tutelage, the Juniata defense allowed fewer yards per game than the season before in both 2011 and 2012.
He was also on the Juniata staff as a secondary coach in 2008 and 2009, before joining the staff at Division III Stevenson (Md.) in 2010.
Battaglia also served as an intern on the defensive staffs at both Guilford (N.C.) and Towson (Md.).
A 2008 graduate of Guilford with a degree in sports management, Battaglia was a four-year letterwinner as a linebacker and defensive back for the Quakers. As a captain during his junior and senior seasons, the Quakers earned back-to-back winning seasons for the first time in a decade.
Battaglia is the second generation of his family to pursue a career in coaching; he follows in the footsteps of his father, Buzz Battaglia, who currently coaches at The Gilman School in Baltimore.
