Henry Stanford
Title: Head Coach
Phone: (614) 236-6184
Email: hstanfor@capital.edu
Henry Stanford was named the 10th head coach of the Crusader football program on March 11, 2010, after two seasons as an assistant coach with the program.
Stanford guided Capital to a 5-5 overall record, including a 5-4 mark in the Ohio Athletic Conference, in 2011. Seven players were selected to the All-OAC teams, including senior Matt White, who finished his career as the program's all-time leader in receiving yards. The Crusaders used their passing offense, which ranked No. 1 in the league in yards per game, to pick up impressive comeback wins over second-place Baldwin-Wallace (Sept. 24) and local rival Otterbein (Oct. 15).
In his first season at the helm he led the Crusaders to a 5-5 record. Even more impressive was Capital's winning record in the always competitive OAC with a 5-4 mark. Stanford's highlights in his first year as a head coach included Capital's 23-13 win over rival Otterbein as well as the team's back-to-back wins over OAC teams to close out the season.
Stanford has been on campus since the start of the 2008 season as an assistant coach on the offensive side of the ball, serving as the offensive coordinator last fall. Under his guidance the CU spread offense ranked second in the OAC in total offense, passing yardage, first downs and fewest sacks allowed while recording just the second 1,000 yard rusher in school history. Stanford was named the OAC Assistant Coach of the Year after overlooking an offense that averaged over 34 points per contest. The Crusaders went 7-3 to cement their eighth winning season of the decade in 2009.
Stanford took over a program that just completed its most successful decade in school history with 72 wins and three trips to the NCAA Tournament, a record that places Capital in the top two football programs in the conference. The Crusaders are also one of just 10 programs in Division III to be nationally ranked in seven consecutive seasons.
“The vision at Capital has always been to pursue greatness in every area of our program. Those efforts will continue with a successful spring ball session over the next few weeks,” Stanford said. “We will leverage our position as a top private university in the Midwest with a nationally ranked football program to attract talented student-athletes to attend Capital."
Stanford also served as the recruiting coordinator of CU football for the past two seasons and has 14 years of collegiate coaching experience dating back to his days as a student assistant coach for Ohio State during the Buckeyes’ 1996 and 1998 Big Ten Championship teams. He came to Capital in 2008 after spending the previous four years at Elmhurst College, in Illinois, including three seasons as associate head coach, recruiting coordinator and offensive coordinator. Overall, Stanford has coached 39 All-Conference selections in the past 14 years. Stanford was also a member of the staff that coached Tennessee Titans wide receiver Nate Washington, who played an essential role on two Super Bowl championship teams with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
During his time at Elmhurst, the Blue Jays won 22 games and were near the top of the conference annually in scoring, passing, rushing and third-down conversions. Stanford coached 12 All-Conference selections at Elmhurst to follow up a successful coaching career that has included stints at Tiffin (1999 and 2003), Otterbein (2000 and 2001) and Kenyon (2002). He also served as an intern coach for the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals during training camp in 2007.
“The students that I have worked with make coaching a dream job because they are truly student-athletes who believe in the balance between academics and athletics,” Stanford said. “The ability to guide students during the next four years of their lives is exciting. However, our program will help them prepare for a meaningful, well-rounded life.”
Stafford's year by year results
| Year |
Overall Results (OAC Results) |
| 2010 |
5-5, (5-4) |
| 2011 |
5-5 (5-4) |
| Total - 2 Years |
10-10 (10-8) |