Ritter is now in his 12th season in the Michael “Mickey” Heinecken Coaching Chair position as head coach of the Middlebury College football program. Ritter has earned a 50-38 mark in his first 11 seasons with the Panthers, including a 13–3 mark during the 2006 and 2007 seasons. Following the 2007 NESCAC Championship season, Ritter was named both the NESCAC Coach of the Year, as well as the Region I AFCA Coach of the Year.

In his time as the head coach for the Panthers, Ritter has coached 72 All-NESCAC selections, while seeing his players break 32 school records, with 37 NESCAC players of the week awards. Seventy-seven players have earned All-NESCAC Academic honors during his tenure, as 12 more were tabbed as Academic All-Region picks, with one National Scholar-Athlete selection. Additionally, one former Panther plays in the NFL.

Since 2009, the Panther offense led the nation in seven categories, while sitting in the top 10 nationally in a dozen more. The 2011 squad was the most prolific,  leading all of NCAA Division III football in four categories, including: passing yards per game (345.71), plays per game (82.25), as signal-caller Mac Foote led the nation in completions per game (32.43), while averaging a nation-best 342.43 passing yards per game.

The Holden, Massachusetts, native began his coaching career immediately following his graduation from Middlebury in 1982. That fall he joined the coaching staff and spent six years as the defensive coordinator under Heinecken. Following his six years at Middlebury, Ritter took the head men’s lacrosse and assistant football coaching position at Tufts University, where he worked as both the offensive and defensive coordinator during his tenure.

Ritter returned to Middlebury in the fall of 1996 to take on duties as an assistant football and assistant men’s lacrosse coach. He was named the head coach of the football program in December of 2000.

Ritter continues to work as an assistant coach in the spring for the three-time NCAA Championship men’s lacrosse team.

He and his wife, the former Sue Parsons (’83), reside in Middlebury with their two daughters, Katie a sophomore basketball and lacrosse player for Middlebury and Chrissy a first-year Middlebury field hockey and lacrosse athlete and their son, Bobby.

Early returns for his 12th season at Middlebury and his eighth season overseeing the offensive line. The team’s offensive coordinator previously coached the defensive line.

He began his collegiate coaching career in 1996 at the University of Chicago working with the tight ends. Following two years in Illinois, Early moved to Hamilton College where he coached the receivers and special teams and was an assistant baseball coach for the Continentals. In 1999, he moved on to coach the wide receivers at Brockport before going to Swarthmore College, in 2000, to coach the running backs and special teams.

The Schenectady, New York, native graduated from the University at Albany and played offensive line for the Great Danes. He holds an undergraduate degree in rhetoric and communication, along with a master’s degree in education from Peru State.

During the winter and spring seasons at Middlebury, Early works as an assistant in the Athletic Communications Office.

Now in his second season at Middlebury, Mandigo returns as the team’s defensive coordinator, coaching the defensive backs.

A 1996 graduate of Middlebury College, Mandigo stayed on at his alma mater as an assistant coach in football, baseball, and women’s ice hockey the year following his graduation. He subsequently moved on to St. Anselm College where he was the defensive coordinator and secondary coach in football for the 1997 and 1998 seasons. During the 1999 and 2000 seasons, Mandigo served as a graduate assistant in football at Boston College while earning his master's degree.

He returned to Middlebury as a coach for the second time in 2001. He worked as an assistant professor in physical education, defensive coordinator and secondary coach in football, and assistant baseball coach through the spring of 2004.

He then moved out West in 2005 to take the position of assistant baseball coach at Ohlone College. He also served as head football coach at Piedmont (Calif.) High School during the fall of 2005, receiving conference coach of the year honors. 

Mandigo moved to Wesleyan in the fall of 2006, where he served as the team’s defensive coordinator for four seasons.

He spent the 2010 season in the professional ranks with UFL’s Hartford Colonials, where he coached NFLers Emmanual Cook and Quinton Demps.

As an undergraduate at Middlebury, he was a rare three-sport athlete, lettering in football, ice hockey, and baseball, serving as a team captain in the latter activity his senior year. 

The Middlebury native returned to Vermont in 2011, coaching the linebackers and leading the strength and conditioning program at Middlebury College. A 2006 graduate of Wesleyan, Johnston-Bloom spent four seasons at his alma mater coaching the defensive line and linebackers.

As a player, he was an immediate starter on the defensive line for the Cardinals as a rookie in 2002. He handled that role for all 32 games during his four seasons. A two-time all-NESCAC pick (2004 and 2005) and a two-year team captain, he amassed 177 total tackles with 15 sacks. During his senior year, he joined the lacrosse team for the first time as a faceoff specialist.

While assisting with the Wesleyan football program, he also worked with the lacrosse team as an assistant coach, leading the program to new heights with two NCAA appearances and a conference title.

Johnston-Bloom, who holds a master’s degree in liberal studies from Wesleyan is also a member of the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NCSA).

A 2002 graduate of Middlebury Union High School, Johnston-Bloom was a three-time All-State selection, captaining the Maple Sugar Shrine team in 2002, the same year he was inducted into the Vermont Chapter of the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame.

Last season, he began the lacrosse program at Thiel College in Greenville, Pennsylvania, becoming the program’s first head coach.

Brakeley returns for his fourth season with the Panther football team, working with the defensive line for the second straight year. He previously worked with the running backs and tight ends in 2009 and 2010.

In the spring, Brakeley will also be in his fourth season as assistant coach of the three-time NCAA Championship men’s lacrosse team.

A Middlebury native, Brakeley earned his degree in political science from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand in 2003. He later earned his master’s degree at the school.

Brakeley, a member of the Vermont Maple Sugar Shrine all-star team in 1998, spent three seasons assisting with the Middlebury Union High School football team, where his father (Peter Brakeley ’75) served as the long-time coach. He also assisted with the lacrosse team at MUHS.

Phelps is now in his sixth season on the football coaching staff after graduating from nearby Castleton State College with a degree in sports administration and a minor in business. The Middlebury native will again coach the wide receivers in 2011. Phelps has also spent the last six springs as an assistant coach for the Middlebury baseball team.

Phelps has also worked as an assistant coach with the Middlebury High School football team. During his time as a student at Middlebury High School, Phelps was a three-sport athlete, playing football, basketball, and baseball. His team won a state title with an undefeated season during his senior year, with Phelps taking part in the Maple Sugar Shrine Game for senior all-stars from Vermont and New Hampshire.