Mel Tjeerdsma

Mel Tjeerdsma earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education from Southern (S.D.) State College in 1967 and a master’s degree from Northwest in 1977. Tjeerdsma served as Northwest’s director of athletics from the spring of 2013 until retiring from that role in April 2018. He was the head football coach at Northwest from 1994 to 2010 and led the Bearcats to a 183-43 record, capturing three NCAA Division II national championships and 12 MIAA titles. A member of several halls of fame, Tjeerdsma was inducted last December into the College Football Hall of Fame.