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Issued: March 27, 2008

RICE ACCEPTS D1 POSITION, HALDER ON BOARD

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. – UW-Eau Claire football assistant coach Matt Rice recently accepted an offer as an assistant football coach for the Division I University of Arizona Wildcats, while Ben Halder has been named an assistant for the Blugolds, Director of Athletics Scott Kilgallon announced.

Rice, who started his new position March 9, will serve as an offensive graduate assistant/offensive line assistant for the Wildcats. Rice has been with the Blugolds for the past three seasons and has been the special teams’ coordinator the last two years in addition to helping coach the defensive line all three seasons.

Halder started in his new role as an assistant football coach for Blugolds Monday. At Eau Claire, Halder will serve as a defensive line coach and special teams’ coordinator. He also teaches in the Kinesiology department.

He brings with him more than seven years of football coaching experience, including five seasons as an assistant at Marietta College (Ohio). Halder was an offensive line coach for three seasons under current Blugold head coach Todd Glaser at Marietta, before taking the position of defensive coordinator for the last two seasons. During his time at Marietta he also earned his Master’s of Education degree in the spring of 2005. In addition to his football responsibilities, he served as an assistant track coach for three seasons and was the head of the department’s educational programming. Halder also served as the interim head football coach for the Marietta Pioneers before coming to Eau Claire.

A graduate of Minnesota State University, Mankato, Halder earned his degree in elementary education and played defensive end of the Mavericks. He then moved to Yucca Valley, Calif. and served as an offensive/defensive line coach for a season at the high school before taking over as the head football coach at the school for two seasons.

Halder currently resides in Eau Claire with his wife Bridgette and daughter Paige.

- KM -

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