For people who venture into the coaching business, whether it be in basketball, soccer, baseball, football or any other sport, a popular dream is to reach the status of head coach. For Colin Bruton, who has spent eight seasons coordinating the defense, this dream became a reality when he was named head football coach this semester.

“We are very excited to promote Coach Bruton to the position,” said April Arvan, interim director of athletics, on lakelandmuskies.com. “His accomplishments as defensive coordinator, as well as commitment to our student-athletes in every aspect of their lives, make him a great fit for our program.”

On March 2, Kevin Doherty, former head coach, announced his resignation. A few days later, Bruton called a team meeting to tell the players that he had been given the job.

“It was very humbling to be given the opportunity to lead the football program,” said Bruton. “I felt honored that I was respected enough to be given the opportunity and then given the opportunity to tell the players and see their excitement. It was something that I will never forget. It was a cool moment for me.”

Bruton received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois in political science. He then went on to get his master’s degree in adult education from UW-Platteville. Before coming to Lakeland, Bruton was an assistant coach at UW-Platteville.

With the leadership transition, some wondered whether the program can expect any modifications in the near future. According to Bruton, many things will stay the same, but there will be changes on and off the field to improve the team.

“I told the guys in the first meeting that I expect them to give me their all, and in turn, as a coaching staff, we are going to give them our best on a daily basis,” said Bruton. “I hope that the expectations for everyone in our program are that we are going to be very successful. I think our goal every year as a program has to be winning conference championships. Once we are doing that on a consistent basis, then we will make some noise in the national playoffs. My expectation is that when Benedictine comes here on Nov. 14, we will be playing for a conference championship.”