Keiser University hires Socha to lead football program

After building the Oxbridge Academy football program from scratch, Doug Socha will be tasked with founding another football team. This time, on the college level.

The former ThunderWolves coach has been hired by Keiser University to be the first football coach in school history. The Seahawks, which will compete in NAIA Division II, are expected to play their inaugural season in 2018.

“The first thing I was looking at was that it was a startup opportunity in South Florida,” said Socha. “It’s been something on my mind since I came down here in the early 2000s. It’s a great area for student-athletes, and it will provide kids another option to come home and play.”

Socha, 41, brings a wealth of experience with him, having coached in the NFL, college and high school. A Cal State Northridge alum, Socha spent five seasons as an assistant at the University of Buffalo from 2000-05.

Socha later became the coach at American Heritage-Delray in 2010, where he amassed a 22-5 record in two seasons, capped off by a Class 3A state championship.

After stepping down from Heritage, Socha was hired by Oxbridge Academy in 2012 to be the school’s first football coach. After playing an independent schedule its first three years, the ThunderWolves won a district title in their first season of FHSAA district play and reached the Class 3A regional finals.

Oxbridge Academy elected to not renew his contract in May, after a personnel shake-up at the school that included the ousters of the school president and athletic director.

This past season Socha went to the NFL, serving as an offensive assistant with the Buffalo Bills.

One of Socha’s biggest challenges with the startup program will be recruiting talent to a school that has no football history. Socha said he plans to start recruiting “ASAP” and that he expects to be at high schools by the end of the week.

SUN SENTINEL FILE PHOTO Former Oxbridge football coach Doug Socha has returned to South Florida at Keiser University.