Zbig Kepa

01/02/00 3:00PM

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A fixture on the Tribe’s staff for 24 years, Zbig Kepa is one of the most respected offensive coaches in the CAA Football Conference. Evidence of this can be found in the fact that the school’s career leaders in rushing yards, passing yards, total offense, receiving yards, touchdown passes and receptions, to name a few, have all played during Kepa’s tenure as coordinator.

Kepa’s time with the College began in 1984, when he arrived as a part-time assistant and worked primarily with the defense. The following year he became a full-time assistant and moved to offense where he took charge of the receivers.

Kepa primarily recruits the Peninsula and Northern Neck areas in Virginia. He also recruits eastern Pennsylvania.

Since joining the offensive staff, Kepa has helped develop one of the most productive offenses in FCS football. The 1996 team led the conference in total offense, while the 1993 unit finished sixth in the nation in total yards with the second-highest total (5,504) in school history.

Overall, the Tribe is averaging nearly 400 yards of total offense per game during Kepa’s 15-year stint as the offensive coordinator. He oversaw the most prolific single-season receiving performance in school history by Dominique Thompson (1,585 yards; 79 receptions; 13 TDs) in 2004. Kepa also mentored the school’s all-time leading receiver, Rich Musinski (‘04), who became just the third player in Championship Subdivision history to surpass the 4,000-yard career receiving mark.

Kepa’s receivers dominate the W&M record book, as nine of the top 10 all-time career receiving yardage leaders were developed under his mentorship. Prior to Musinski, the most prolific of the group was 2000 graduate Dave Conklin (1996-99), who left the College as the all-time leader in receiving yards (3,269), catches (190) and touchdown catches (27). Harry Mehre (1985-89) was the first to etch his name into the archives, as he set a then career receiving yardage mark (2,748) and earned AP All-America honors as a senior. Kepa has also groomed a pair of student-athletes to conference Rookie of the Year honors (Conklin, 1996; Musinski, 2000).

In his 24 seasons at W&M, Kepa has tutored nine receivers to 11 all-conference citations, including four first-team honorees. Most recently, current wide out Joe Nicholas earned third-team honors in 2006. Musinski, who graduated as the school’s all-time leader in receiving yards (4,168), receptions (223) and touchdown catches (31), was a three-time first-team all-league pick from 2001 to 2003.

Kepa grew up in northern Indiana and attended Bishop Noll Institute, where he lettered four years in football. After graduation in 1975, he accepted a football scholarship at St. Joseph’s College in Indiana. He led the Pumas at quarterback and defensive back before a knee injury ended his playing career. He continued at St. Joseph’s as a student assistant coach and graduated in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and health.

Kepa earned his master’s in health and physical education from Purdue in 1981. Upon completing his master’s, he assisted with the offense and defense at Fenwick High School in Chicago. In 1983, he returned to his undergraduate alma mater for one year as a full-time offensive assistant before joining W&M in 1984.

He and his wife, the former Mary Cappuccilli from Indiana, have three children, Christina (23), Nathanial (15) and Nicholas (13).

Kepa’s Collegiate Coaching Profile