Bob Chesney begins his third season as head football coach at Salve Regina University, compiling a 14-7 record over his first two years.

This past season, Chesney led the Seahawks to their most successful year since the 1998 campaign, finishing with an overall record of 8-3 while earning their first ECAC Bowl victory in 13 years with a decisive 26-6 defeat over Worcester State in the North-West Bowl. The team ended the season winning each of its last six contests to finish the year ranked No. 9 in the New England Division III Football Poll.

Chesney's student-athletes did the job both on the field and in the classroom, evident by the selection of 11 student-athletes to the all-conference team, and the placement of 22 on the conference's academic honor roll.

In Chesney's first season, the Seahawks posted their best record in a decade and closed the season on a five-game win streak – their longest since 1999. The team ended the season ranked No. 10 in the New England Division III Football Poll - the first time it finished a season ranked since 2000.

Chesney came to Salve Regina after five years at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md. While at JHU, he assumed the roles of special teams' coordinator, recruiting coordinator, strength & conditioning coordinator and defensive coordinator before he was named associate head coach in 2009.

In 2009, the Blue Jays recorded a 10-3 mark and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III Tournament. Led by its nationally-ranked defense, the Blue Jays scored road wins over Hampden-Sydney (23-7) and Thomas More (31-29) en route to advancing further than any Centennial Conference member ever had in the tournament.

Chesney was instrumental in the recruitment of running back and 2009 Centennial Conference offensive player of the year Andrew Kase, and he also recruited and coached the league's defensive player of the year and former Salve Regina assistant coach, Colin Wixted.

In his final season at JHU, Chesney's defense led the nation with 30 interceptions, ranked 20th in rushing defense, and 23rd in overall defense. In the conference, the Blue Jays were tops in nearly every major statistical category on defense, including scoring defense (14.0 ppg), turnover margin (+14), rushing defense (66.8 ypg), total yards (241 ypg), pass defense efficiency (96.7) and sacks (31).

Prior to his arrival at Johns Hopkins, Chesney was an assistant coach at King's College (Pa.), where he served as special teams' coordinator and the director of football operations. He has also spent time at Delaware Valley College (2002-03) as defensive and strength and conditioning coordinator, and Norwich University (2000-02) as assistant football coach.

Chesney, a member of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and Cross Fit Football Strength and Conditioning certified, has done work with the Salvation Army's Adopt-A-Family Christmas and the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. Chesney has also worked with the Special Olympics, including organizing a fund raiser called 'Cowboy Up' which helped raise over $3,000 for the organization in Pennsylvania.

The Seahawks continue Chesney's vision of social service by being involved in numerous community service projects. Salve Regina football received its greatest honor, on and off the field, when they were presented the '2010 Volunteers of the Year' award by Newport's Child and Family Services. The Seahawks participated in Child and Family's Adopt a Foster Home Program, the East Bay Special Olympics and the Newport Police Department vs. Salve Regina baseball/softball Fundraiser. Chesney and his staff continued Salve Regina's annual participation in the 'Coach to Cure MD' project in 2010, and this past year helped to find bone marrow matches with a program called "Be a Match, Save a Life", while also delivering free home repair services to low-income homeowners with "Rebuild Together".

A 2000 graduate of Dickinson College, Chesney was a four-year letter-winner for the Red Devils football program. He received the Vincent Correal team MVP award as a sophomore in 1997, served as team captain his senior year, and garnered All-Centennial Conference honors in 1998 and 1999.

Chesney – who also serves as the department's work study coordinator – resides in Newport with his wife, Andrea. The couple gave birth to their first child, Lyla, in August, 2010.