EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (blugolds.com) — University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Athletic Director Dan Schumacher announced Wednesday that Defensive Coordinator and Linebackers Coach Austin Dickinson has stepped down from his position after spending three seasons on staff with UW-Eau Claire Football.

Dickinson has taken a position as the Head Coach at his alma Buena Vista University, an NCAA Division III program in Storm Lake, Iowa.

"I want to thank former Head Coach Wesley Beschorner and Athletic Director Dan Schumacher for the wonderful opportunity to coach at UW-Eau Claire the past three seasons. I want to send out my heartfelt appreciation to all the coaches and players from my time at Eau Claire. My time with Blugold Football was made special because of them."

Before joining the Blugold staff in 2020, Dickinson coached at Minnesota State where he was the defensive line coach since 2018. During his two seasons at MSU, he coached 5 All-NSIC honorees. The Maverick defense allowed just 99.5 rushing yards per game in 2018 and only 69.1 rushing yards per game in 2019, ranking them third in NCAA Division II. In those two seasons the Mavericks tallied 99 sacks.

Dickinson also spent five seasons coaching several positions at his alma mater, Buena Vista University, after coaching for two additional years at Minot State where he was a graduate assistant.

As a player at Buena Vista, Dickinson was a four-year letter winner and a three-year starter on the defensive line. In the spring of 2010, he received his bachelor's degree in exercise science and would later earn his master's degree in education from Minot State in 2019.