Buena Vista University Men's Football

Austin Dickinson enters his third season as head football coach at his alma mater in the fall of 2025. During his first two campaigns, he helped coach a 2-time all-conference performer and two additional honorable mention selections.  Before he was named head coach at BVU following the 2022 campaign, Dickinson spent the previous two seasons as the defensive coordinator at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. In that role he coached six All-Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference players for the Blugolds.   Prior to returning to the DIII level, the BVU alum spent two seasons as the recruiting coordinator and a defensive coach at Minnesota State University-Mankato. During that tenure, the Mavericks went 27-2, including an appearance in the DII National Championship game. Dickinson, who managed all recruiting duties, also helped coach a defense that finished the 2019 campaign ranked first in DII in both total defense and scoring defense.   A 2010 graduate of Buena Vista, Dickinson was a four-year letterwinner for the Beavers and a three-year starter. Following his playing career, the Woodbine, Iowa, native spent two years as a graduate assistant at Minot State University before returning to BVU in the spring of 2012 where he spent the next five years. The final three of those years was spent as the Beaver defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator where he heavily recruited throughout the states of Iowa and Nebraska.   After departing BVU, Dickinson spent one year at the University of North Dakota before landing at Minnesota State.   Dickinson earned his bachelor of arts degree from Buena Vista in Exercise Science in 2010 and a master's degree in Education from Minot State during the summer of 2019.   Austin and his wife, Whitney - also a 2010 BVU graduate -, have two daughters, Landry and Lowen.

Tom Rethman joined the Buena Vista football coaching staff in the fall of 2022 as a part-time assistant coach and is set to begin his fourth season on staff in 2025. After spending two years coaching the team's running backs, Rethman was elevated to offensive coordinator for the Beavers prior to the 2024 campaign. Rethman spent nine seasons as head football coach at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City (2008-16) after serving as offensive coordinator for seven seasons at UW-Oshkosh. He’s also had coaching stints at Knox College, Southern Illinois University, Illinois State University and Carroll University.  

Eric Hubbard begins his third season on the football staff in 2025. Last season, Hubbard took over the reins as the team's defensive coordinator and will also coach the defensive backs. In 2024, BVU had a pair of honorable mention players on defense, including the league's leading tackler. Among those two players, one was the league's leading tackler and the other sat in the top-5 of the league in passes defended. The Beavers ranked third overall in passing defense. Hubbard made his way to campus after spending the 2022 season at Michigan Tech University where he also coached the linebackers, including two all-conference players (Marc Sippel and Hunter Buechel) with Sippel also earning All-American honors. From 2019 to 2021, Hubbard coached linebackers at St. Norbert College. In 2019, the Green Knights reached the conference championship game. While at SNC, Hubbard coached five all-conference linebackers, including three alone in 2021. Hubbard has also spent time coaching linebackers at both Mckendree University (2018) and Northern Illinois (2017) while also spending three seasons coaching freshman football at Middleton High School with his final two years as defensive coordinator. Hubbard earned his B.S. in History from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 2012. He later earned his masters degree in sports management from Northern Illinois in 2017.

Austin Bresnahan begins his second season as an assistant football coach at Buena Vista University in the fall of 2025 and coaches the linebackers. During his first campaign in 2024, Bresnahan helped coach a pair of individuals who ranked in the top-10 of the A-R-C in total tackles, including the league's top tackler, with one of them earning honorable mention all-conference honors. Bresnahan was a four-year linebacker at Kalamazoo College (2018-21) before he became a graduate assistant coach for the program in 2022. He was a three-time MIAA Honor Roll selection and named to the National Football Foundation Honor Society following his final year. During his coaching tenure, he helped coach one all-conference performer and multiple individuals who earned MIAA Defensive Player of the Week accolades. Bresnahan graduated from Kalamazoo in 2021 with a bachelors degree in Business, and in 2024 earned his master's degree in Sports Management from Western Michigan University.  

Trevor Berneking returned to the Beaver football coaching staff in the fall of 2023 and continues to serve as a tight ends coach. Berneking served as a part-time coach for the BVU football program for six seasons (2015-2021). During that time, he helped coach the defensive line for two years and linebackers for four. He has helped guide a two-time All-Conference linebacker and saw the team improve to second in the conference in total sacks in 2019. During that same span, the team also improved its rushing yards allowed per game by nearly 60.0ypg. Berneking came to Storm Lake after having served seven years as the Director of Athletic Media Relations at Missouri Western State University in St. Joseph, Mo., as well as spending time as a graduate assistant at Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D. A native of Grand Marais, Minn., Berneking graduated from Cook County High School in 2000. He then went on to play four years of football at the University of Minnesota-Crookston and was a two-year captain and an NSIC All-Conference selection as a defensive lineman. Following his playing career, he served as a student assistant for one year. Berneking graduated from the University of Minnesota-Crookston in December of 2004 with a bachelor's degree in sport and recreation management and business management, with an emphasis in marketing and minor in coaching. In the spring of 2007, he received his master's degree in physical education, health and coaching from Northern State University.  In addition to assisting with the football program, Berneking has served as the Director of Esports and Intramurals since May of 2020. Prior to this position Berneking had been Director of Recreation Services since 2014. Buena Vista University is the first American Rivers Conference school to start a competitive Esports program.  Berneking and his black lab, Izzy, reside in Storm Lake.

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