Brian Mason 2022-23 Football Staff

Special Teams Coordinator


phone 631-7475
Brian Mason
Bio

THE MASON FILE

Hometown: Zionsville, Indiana
High School: Zionsville Community High School
College: Denison (2009, B.A.), Bluffton (2012, M.A.), Purdue (2014, M.S.), Ohio State (2016, M.S.)
Wife: Rachel
Children: Sons – Graham and Noah

PLAYING EXPERIENCE

2005-06 Denison Running Back

COACHING CAREER

2006-07 Denison Student Assistant
2009-11 Bluffton Defensive Line
2012 Kent State Graduate Assistant
2013-14 Purdue Graduate Assistant
2015-16 Ohio State Graduate Assistant
2017 Cincinnati Director of Recruiting
2018-21 Cincinnati Special Teams Coordinator
2022- Notre Dame Special Teams Coordinator

BOWLS COACHED IN

2012 Kent State (GoDaddy.com)
2015 Ohio State (Fiesta)
2016 Ohio State (Fiesta – CFP Semifinal)
2018 Cincinnati (Military)
2019 Cincinnati (Birmingham)
2020 Cincinnati (Peach)
2021 Cincinnati (Cotton – CFP Semifinal)

PERSONAL INFORMATION

  • He spent two seasons as a running back at Denison before an injury forced him into coaching and he spent his final two seasons in Granville as a student coach.
  • Graduated from Denison in 2009 with degrees economics and history. Earned a master’s degree in education from Bluffton in 2012, a master’s degree in recreation and sport management from Purdue in 2014 and master’s degree in kinesiology, sport management from Ohio State in 2016. 

COACHING ACCOMPLISHMENTS

  • Entering his first season at Notre Dame after being hired in January of 2022.
  • Spent the previous five seasons at Cincinnati, he was the Special Teams Coordinator from 2018-21 and was the Director of Recruiting in 2017.
  • He was named a finalist for 2021 Special Teams Coach of the Year by FootballScoop.com.
  • Mason’s units were key to Cincinnati recording the first 13-0 mark in school history in 2021, as the Bearcats won a second-consecutive American Athletic Conference Championship and advanced to the College Football Playoff Semifinals at the Cotton Bowl.
  • In 2021, UC tied for the most blocked kicks in the nation with six, while ranking seventh in the country with three blocked punts.
  • Also in 2021, UC ranked first in the AAC and No. 3 in the nation in punt return defense (1.53) and No. 2 in the AAC and No. 22 overall in net punting (41.7).  
  • In 2020, Cincinnati finished 9-1, won the AAC Championship and played in the Peach Bowl – UC’s first New Year’s Six Bowl since 2009. 
  • The Bearcats finished atop the 2019 AAC ranks in scoring defense for the second-straight season and ranked among the league’s top three in rushing and total defense.
  • In 2018, the UC defense led the American in rushing defense, scoring defense and total defense and ranked among the Top-15 in the NCAA FBS in all three categories.
  • Punter James Smith, a three-time All-American Athletic Conference selection, was a finalist for the Ray Guy Award in 2018 and also earned spots on two All-America squads.
  • UC led the American Conference and finished second in the NCAA FBS in net punting. 
  • In addition to his on-field success with the Bearcats, Mason oversaw a recruiting operation which helped UC sign two-consecutive highly-rated recruiting classes ranked at the top of the American Athletic Conference.
  • In his recruiting role, Mason oversaw the day-to-day operations of the recruiting program including database management, organizing all official and unofficial visits, coordinating special events associated with recruiting, managing the current roster and recruiting budgets as well as administering all recruiting paperwork including transcripts and scholarship documents.
  • Prior to joining the UC staff in 2017, Mason spent eight years coaching at Ohio State, Purdue, Kent State and Bluffton.
  • He came to UC after two years at Ohio State as a graduate assistant coach, where he worked with the Buckeyes’ linebackers during the 2015 and 2016 campaigns. 
  • Mason held positions at Bluffton (2009-11), Kent State (2012) and the 2013 and 2014 seasons as a graduate assistant coach on Darrell Hazell’s staff at Purdue University. He also worked with Hazel at Kent State.