Chris Dawson - Football Coach - Kansas State University Athletics

Chris Dawson

Title:
Director of Strength & Conditioning
Email:
cdawson@kstatesports.com
Phone:
(785) 532-6835

The Dawson File

PERSONAL INFORMATION

Year at K-State: 12th
Hometown: Houston, Texas
Spouse: Dawn
Children: Madison, Meyer, Macey

EDUCATION

Oklahoma (1995)
Bachelor's in Business Management
Oklahoma (1999)
M.B.A.

PLAYING EXPERIENCE

Oklahoma, Linebacker (1992-94)

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

1995         Oklahoma (Graduate Assistant)
1996-2000 Oklahoma (Asst. Strength Coach)
2001          Las Vegas Outlaws [XFL] (Team Administrator)
2001-02      Minnesota (Head Strength Coach)
2003-09      Kansas (Head Strength Coach)
2010-21 K-State (Director of Strength and Conditioning)

Chris Dawson, a veteran of more than 25 years in the field of strength training, is in his 12th season as Kansas State’s Director of Strength and Conditioning in 2021.

Dawson manages the department’s total strength program while providing daily leadership for the Wildcats’ football strength and conditioning program. The Houston, Texas, native spent the previous seven seasons as the head strength and conditioning coach at the University of Kansas before coming to Manhattan. Under Dawson’s tutelage, 39 players have been drafted by NFL teams including 10 that were taken in the first two rounds of the NFL Draft.

Prior to his tenure at K-State – which has included seven bowl appearances – Dawson was a part of four bowl teams from 2003 to 2008 at Kansas, including a 2008 BCS appearance in the Orange Bowl. Following the successful 2007 campaign, Dawson was awarded the National Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year Award by the Professional Football Strength and Conditioning Coaches Society.

Dawson worked the 2001 and 2002 football seasons as the head strength and conditioning coach for the University of Minnesota after serving five-year stint at Oklahoma, his alma mater. While with the Sooners, Dawson worked with the football and men’s basketball teams.

Before taking the position at Minnesota, he spent three months with the Las Vegas Outlaws of the XFL and two months with the Dallas Cowboys as a strength and conditioning intern.

Dawson credits his success in the strength field to his mentors at Oklahoma. He learned under Joe Juraszek, who was the strength coach at OU during his playing days and was the head strength coach for the Dallas Cowboys for 14 years. He also received valuable guidance from Blair Prince, Pete Martinelli and Jerry Schmidt, the current Director of Athletic Performance at Texas A&M.

Dawson played linebacker for the Sooners from 1992-94 and participated in a pair of postseason contests – the 1993 John Hancock Bowl and the 1994 Copper Bowl. He received his bachelor’s degree in business management in 1995 and his master’s degree in business administration in 1999, both from Oklahoma.

Dawson and his wife, Dawn, have three children, twins Madison and Meyer, and Macey.