BANNOCKBURN, Ill. --- Trinity International University has named Willie Tillman the seventh head football coach in program history, as announced by the university and athletic department on Thursday.

Interim head coach Anthony Franz stepped in when Coach Lamont Butler announced his departure in June, and he is now headed over to Crown College (Minn.) to take up the head football coach position there. Franz joined the Trinity football staff in 2016, and served as assistant head coach and recruiting coordinator since 2018. He also coached the offensive line since 2017.

"We anticipate a great fall 2021 season of athletic competition and camaraderie," Director of Athletics Heather Logue said. "I'm excited to have Coach Tillman as our head football coach. He is a man who seeks the Lord, an experienced leader who knows how to build into the lives of young men, and has a tremendous knowledge of the game. We are blessed to be able to call him our head coach."

Logue also said that coaches will be reaching out to the players and recruits to answer any questions about the transition. "We not only have their athletic development but also their spiritual and academic growth as our utmost concern, which Tillman will ensure takes place," she said.

Tillman brings 20 years of college coaching experience. An accomplished recruiter who has coordinated recruiting efforts for four different staffs, Tillman found success at the Division I level with additional experience ranging from assisting the 2003 AFC North Champion Baltimore Ravens to helping direct a successful startup program at Florida Tech.

"I want to see the community witness the Trojan football team giving God all the glory." -Willie Tillman

Tillman kicked off his coaching career at his alma-mater, Purdue University, as an assistant in 1997, where he was four-year letter winner and two year starter as a wide receiver. Since then, he has coached at multiple colleges and universities, including most recently a two-year stint at Lakewood High School (Fla.) as associate head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach. Under his leadership, Lakewood went 12-1 into the 4A state semi finals, where the team averaged 34 points per game that season.

"I'm excited to help these young men get an education and grow in their faith while they're playing football," Tillman said. "Coaching in a Christian school earlier in my career brought me closer to Christ, and ever since then I've wanted to continue to coach in such a way that others are also challenged to grow in their faith, regardless if I was at a faith-based institution." Tillman values patience and fortitude on the field, "because things aren't going to happen overnight, and just as our faith is tested, so too will the team be tested," he said.

"I also love to glorify God and praise him," Tillman said. "People love to see each other celebrating. And I want to see the community witness the Trojan football team giving God all the glory."

Tillman and the Trojans will kickoff the 2021 season on Saturday, September 4 at Madonna (MI).

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Trinity International University is a comprehensive, national university affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America and located in Bannockburn, Illinois, 25 miles north of Chicago. TIU educates men and women to engage in God's redemptive work in the world by cultivating academic excellence, Christian faithfulness and lifelong learning.