March 23, 2005
Cullowhee, N.C. -
Western Carolina head football coach Kent Briggs announced today the addition of Marty Lowe and Geep Wade (first name is pronounced "Jeep") as members of the 2005 Catamount coaching staff. Lowe, a former Louisville quarterback and head coach of the Georgia Force in the Arena Football League, will coach the Catamount running backs. Wade, who played collegiately at Southern Conference rival Chattanooga and comes to Cullowhee from the University of Tennessee staff, will work with the WCU offensive line.
This past fall, Lowe worked for WHAS Radio as a member of the Louisville Cardinal broadcasts. The native of Chattanooga, Tenn., spent the previous three seasons as head coach with Force (2002-04), guiding the team to a record eight wins in 2003 and leading the club to its first postseason appearance. He was the second youngest head coach in the Arena Football League and had a career record of 17-19, including a 1-1 mark in the postseason.
Despite being hampered by injuries all season in 2003, the Force jumped out to a 6-2 mark to start the year and was able to ride the strength of its league-leading defense to advance to the quarterfinal round of the playoffs. Lowe, a former AFL quarterback himself, helped pave the way for rookie Leon Murray to emerge as one of the league's rising stars after the loss of two starting quarterbacks during the year.
In 2002, Lowe replaced Robert Lyles, who was relieved of his duties following the Force's 1-4 start. Under his direction, the Force finished the year winning five of their last eight games in the team's inaugural season.
Prior to joining the Force, Lowe served as running back coach for the University of Texas-El Paso. Lowe's coaching career in the Arena Football League started when he joined the Nashville Kats as an offensive assistant in March 2000 after spending three seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Louisville. With the Kats, Lowe had Nashville's offense clicking on all cylinders in the 2000 playoffs, scoring more than 50 points in each of the team's first three postseason contests to qualify for Arena Bowl XIV. Lowe went on to serve as the Kats' offensive coordinator and assistant coach, where his duties included creating and implementing the offensive game plan and coaching the team's wide receivers and quarterbacks.
Lowe, who played quarterback at the University of Louisville from 1991-95, spent two seasons in the Arena Football League. He played quarterback for the St. Louis Stampede in 1996 and joined the Texas Terrors in 1997. He was a starter at Texas until a knee injury ended his playing career.
In college, he started 22 consecutive games for the Cardinals, passing for 2,268 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior in 1995. He is one of only four passers in Louisville history to throw for more than 2,000 yards in back-to-back seasons. Upon receiving his degree in Sport Administration from Louisville in 1996, Lowe joined the Cardinal coaching staff in 1997, breaking down practice and game tape. Also during his time on the Cardinal staff, he received his Master's degree in Education from Louisville in 1999.
Lowe was Mr. Football in Tennessee as a senior at Red Bank High School in 1990. Marty and his wife, the former Michelle Washle, have two children; son Bryce (5) and daughter Reece (1).
Wade spent the 2004 season as a graduate assistant coach at the University of Tennessee, working with the Volunteers' offensive coordinator Randy Sanders and assisting with the offensive line. Despite losing two quarterbacks during the season due to injury, Tennessee still posted a 10-3 record, won the Southeastern Conference East Division title and defeated Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl thanks to a pair of 1,000-yard rushers (Gerald Riggs and Cedric Houston).
Wade is no stranger to the Catamounts or Western North Carolina. Prior to joining the Tennessee staff, he was the offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator at Mars Hill in 2003, helping the Lions compile a 7-4 record. He spent the previous three seasons (2002) as an offensive line coach at his alma mater, Chattanooga. During his playing days with the Mocs, Wade was a three-year starter at center and was elected captain as a senior (2001).
Wade, a Nashville, Tenn., native received his B.S. in Marketing from Chattanooga in 2001. He played his prep football at Battle Ground Academy in Franklin (Tenn.).
WCU Announces 2005 Spring Football Schedule
The Catamount football team was forced to push the start of spring practices back and will now take Bob Waters Field on Monday (Mar. 28). The team will have 15 practices over a four-week span. Western will have three scrimmages during the spring, including the annual Spring Game, which is set for Friday (April 15) at approximately 7:00 pm. The Cats will also hold scrimmages on April 2 and April 9.
More announcements concerning spring practices and events surrounding the Spring Game will be announced throughout the spring.
