Joe Reich was named the full-time Director of Athletics in November of 2023, after serving as the interim AD from April of 2023 through November. Reich took over as the Director of Athletics after serving as Wingate's head football coach for 23 seasons, guiding the Bulldogs to a pair of SAC titles and five NCAA D2 play-off appearances. Wingate appeared in the D2 play-offs in four of Reich's final six seasons as head coach, advancing to the national quarterfinals for the first time in program history in 2022.
As Reich enters his third year as the school's Director of Athletics, the Bulldogs continue to be one of the top programs in all of NCAA Division II athletics. Wingate captured its 17th straight SAC Excellence Cup in 2024-25, while finishing in the top five in the NCAA D2 Learfield Cup Standings in each of his first two years. The Bulldogs finished second in the Learfield standings in 2024-25, the highest finish in Wingate or SAC history. The Bulldogs piled up 16 SAC titles in 2024-25, while finishing in the top 10 nationally in 10 sports, including seven top-five national finishes.
Wingate is the all-time SAC leader in conference titles, SAC Excellence Cups, All-Americans, Academic All-America honorees, SAC Players of the Year, SAC Scholar-Athletes, SAC Coaches of the Year, national titles and SAC Athletes of the Year. Wingate is second in all of NCAA Division II in Academic All-America honorees.
During his 23 seasons as the head coach, Reich compiled an overall record of 158 wins and 92 losses, going 95-67 in league play. The all-time winningest coach in Wingate football history, Reich ranks third among all SAC coaches in career wins and conference victories.
Reich arrived at Wingate in 2000, after spending eight years as an assistant coach at the University of Buffalo. Prior to Buffalo, he was an assistant coach at his alma mater Gettysburg College and a graduate assistant coach at Georgia Tech under Bobby Ross. Reich was the defensive coordinator at Buffalo during Buffalo’s transition from Division I-AA to Division I.
Reich played offensive line at Gettysburg from 1984-87, earning a B.A. degree in Mathematics in 1987. Reich earned All-Centennial Conference honors his senior season at Gettysburg. He played his high school football at Cedar Crest High School in Lebanon, Pa. Reich’s father (Frank John Reich) was a head coach at Lebanon High School and later served as an assistant coach at Lebanon Valley College. Frank John Reich played football and served as a 1955 co-captain at Penn State. He was one of the last PSU players to play 60 minutes in a game. Joe Reich’s brother (Frank Michael Reich) played 14 seasons in the NFL, while also serving as an offensive coordinator and head coach. Joe Reich and his wife Deirdre have a son (Shane) and two daughters (Colleen and Lindsey).
