Austin Minor is in his second season as Special Teams Coordinator at the University of Pikeville. In his first year guiding the Bears’ special teams units, the group delivered a breakout campaign highlighted by a First Team All-Conference selection from punter Alex Hatton and an NAIA Top 10 finish, ranking eighth nationally in punt team performance. The Bears also saw significant improvement in the field goal unit, led by Second Team All-Conference kicker Isaac Smith. Levi Evans tied both the school’s single season and career records for blocked kicks, while Maurice Davis recorded one of the most memorable plays of the season with a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against Point, tying the second-longest kickoff return in program history.
Prior to joining UPike, Minor built a diverse coaching and administrative résumé across multiple levels of college football. At Coffeyville Community College, he served in college advancement while also coaching several highly accomplished specialists, including First Team All-American punter Owen Lawson, All-Conference kicker Forest Taylor, and All-Conference punter Cade Dowd. Taylor set the Coffeyville program record with a 57-yard field goal.
Minor also gained experience at the Division I level. As Special Teams Quality Control Coach at the University of Toledo, he worked with Ray Guy Watch List punter Bailey Flint and long snapper Sean Mills. Flint later earned opportunities with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL, while Mills received an NFL training camp invitation with the Tennessee Titans. In 2017, Minor served as Special Teams Quality Control Coach at Eastern Kentucky, where he coached First Team All-American punter Keith Wrzuszczak, who later attended training camp with the Indianapolis Colts.
In 2018, Minor was the Special Teams Coordinator and Running Backs Coach at Tusculum University. His special teams units ranked among the best in Division II, including a kickoff return unit that finished third nationally in return average. Offensively, as running backs coach, he mentored four different backs to 100-yard games, while Jordan Shippy set the school’s single-game rushing record and earned All-Conference honors. Earlier, during his time at Coffeyville Community College, Minor coached NJCAA All-American punter and kicker Cooper Lee, who set the NJCAA record with an 86-yard punt.
Minor began his collegiate playing career at Coffeyville Community College, where he was a two-year starter and team captain before transferring to Missouri Southern State University. At Missouri Southern, he earned two varsity letters and received First Team All-League honors as a long snapper in 2015.
A native of Baxter Springs, Kansas, Minor graduated from Baxter Springs High School, where he was a four-time letterwinner in football and earned All-Conference honors as a senior. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Missouri Southern State in 2015.
