One of the nation's most experienced and accomplished offensive
coordinators, Zbig Kepa enters his 29th season on the Tribe sideline. Kepa's
success 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 his tenure running the
Tribe's offense.
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,
a position he will have specific oversight of this season.
Kepa primarily recruits eastern Pennsylvania and the Northern Neck area of
Virginia. He also recruits Michigan, Indiana and Illinois.
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 20-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 developed 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 28 seasons at W&M, Kepa has tutored 13 receivers to 16
all-conference citations, including four first-team honorees. Most recently,
current wide out Ryan Moody and '10 graduate Chase Hill both earned All-CAA
distinction last season. The most-decorated of all Kepa's receivers is
Musinski, who graduated as the school's all-time leader in receiving yards
(4,168), receptions (223) and touchdown catches (31), and 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 stayed on the
Pumas' staff for the 1979 and 1980 seasons, while working on his master's
degree in health and physical education at Purdue.
Kepa earned his master's degree in 1981 and went onto become an assistant 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, Nathanial and Nicholas.
