Mark Konopka Position: Tights Ends/Assistant Strength Coach

In first year on Western staff ... Works with tight ends ... Served as offensive line coach at Southwest Mississippi Junior College (Summitt, Miss.) last season ... Also had one-year collegiate coaching stints at Cheyney University (Penn.), Independence CC (Kan.), St. Paul's College (Lawrenceville, Va.), Western Connecticut State University (Danburg, Conn.), University of Minnesota-Morris, Dakota State University (Madison, SD), Morningside College (Sioux City, Iowa) and Belhaven College (Jackson, Miss.) ... Coached offensive line at all but two of those schools, being defensive line coach at Cheyney and Belhaven ... Also co-offensive coordinator at St. Paul's, with additional duties of strength and conditioning coach at seven schools and tight ends coach at three ... Was offensive line coach for Kiel Hurricanes in Kiel, Germany, for one year (2000) ... Also coached at high school level for two years in Michigan, one at Fraser High and another at Warren Mott High ... Four-year starter as offensive lineman at Iowa State University, receiving bachelor's degree in 1997 ... Played two years in Arena Football League, one for Florida Bulldogs (1998) and another for Iowa Barnstormers (1999) ... 34 years old.