Feb. 4, 2003

The Lehigh football program has announced the hiring of Chris Rorke as the team's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Rorke replaces Dave Cecchini, who accepted a similar position at Harvard in January. Prior to joining the Mountain Hawks' staff, Rorke spent the last four seasons as the head coach at Plymouth State College in Plymouth, N.H.

"Coach Rorke will be an outstanding addition to our coaching staff," said Lehigh head football coach Pete Lembo. "His background as a player at Dartmouth and as a coach at some quality academic institutions will enable him to relate well to our student-athletes.

"I am confident that Chris will provide some new concepts to our offensive scheme and present a strong appreciation for the foundation that we already have in place," Lembo continued. "In addition, his experience as a head coach will be a valuable resource with regard to program administration."

While at Plymouth State, Rorke posted a record of 20-21. In just his first season, he guided the Panthers to an 8-3 mark and a win in the ECAC Northeast Championship game. Two years later, Rorke's squad went 7-3, and won a share of the Freedom Football Conference championship.

Before taking over at Plymouth State, Rorke spent five years at Illinois Wesleyan, as the team's offensive coordinator, QB coach, and recruiting coordinator. In those five years, the team went a combined 38-9 and captured two CCIW titles. The 1996 team was ranked second in the nation in scoring offense and third in total offense in Division III. Under Rorke's guidance, quarterback Lon Erickson completed an NCAA record 87.1% of his passes, and earned the Gagliardi Trophy as the D-III player of the year.

Rorke has also spent time on the coaching staffs at Georgia Tech and Dartmouth. Rorke was a graduate assistant at Tech for two years, including working on the staff of the 1990 Yellow Jackets national championship team while pursuing his Master's. While in Atlanta, he worked under then-offensive coordinator Ralph Freidgen, who is now the head coach at the University of Maryland. At Dartmouth, he worked primarily with receivers and tight ends in his three seasons. Those teams included such talent as quarterback Jay Fiedler (now with the Miami Dolphins), and the Big Green won Ivy League titles in 1991 and 1992.

Rorke, a native of North Andover, Mass., played his collegiate ball at Dartmouth, where he was the team's quarterback under head coach Buddy Teevens (now the head coach at Stanford). He earned his degree from Dartmouth in 1989. His father, Dan, is the head football coach and athletic director at the Brooks School in North Andover, and is a member of the Massachusetts Football Coaches Hall of Fame.

Rorke will join the staff of third year head coach Pete Lembo, as Lehigh looks to continue its long tradition of success on the gridiron. The Mountain Hawks have captured Patriot League titles in four of the last five seasons.

Chris Rorke and his wife, Mary Alice, have a two-year old son, Daniel. They will relocate to the Lehigh Valley.