Judson brings ex-Bears QB, local coach Mike Hohensee aboard as senior adviser

Building a football program from the ground up is no small task, but Judson University continues to make major strides.

On July 11, the university’s athletics department officially announced the hiring of former Chicago Bears quarterback and local football coach Mike Hohensee as a senior adviser to the program and head coach Brandon New.

“We are extremely blessed to have ‘Coach Ho’ on board,” New said in the news release. “His experience and success both in life and on the field are second to none. Mike is a man of faith who will impact our student-athletes daily.”

Hohensee, the father of former St. Charles North quarterback Mike Hohensee, also played professionally in the Canadian Football League and the Arena Football League.

“I want to help coach New become the best head coach in the nation,” Hohensee said. “To me, [that’s] my responsibility. I don’t want to be ‘the voice’ of the team. Anytime I see something, I’m going to talk to [New] about it.

“I don’t want to have that voice of telling the staff,” Hohensee continued. “If I have an idea, I want to give it to coach New and I want him to deliver it as his idea. ... I don’t want coach looking over his shoulder in any way. He’s vested in this, he’s got a great vision [and] is a hard worker.

“[Coach New] is a guy they’re very fortunate to have because when you start something up like this, we have one chance to get this right for the first time.”

Hohensee has quite a football résumé. A quarterback for the Pittsburgh Gladiators in the newly formed AFL in 1987, he was in offseason mode and working as a bartender when his agent called to tell him the Bears were interested in his services with the NFL strike looming.

Hohensee made the most of his opportunity, throwing for 343 career yards with four touchdowns and one interception as a Bear.

Hohensee coached eight AFL franchises over 21 years, winning 170 games, according to his LinkedIn profile. Hohensee coached the Chicago Rush to the ArenaBowl XX title in 2006 and was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame in 2012.

The Elgin-based university unveiled its brand-new football program at an announcement in October 2018. The program will compete at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) level.