Gettysburg College Athletics

Gardy Lawrence returns for his 17th campaign with the Orange and Blue. Lawrence served two previous stints on the staff, coaching linebackers and defensive backs from 1986-88 and enjoying a 12-year run from 2005-16. Lawrence will coach of Gettysburg’s running back corps.

Lawrence has steered the Bullets' ground game to a highly-successful run since returning to the Battlefield. Gettysburg led the Centennial Conference in rushing offense in 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, and 2012 and was second in 2008 and 2009. The Bullets have also cracked the top-30 in Division III in rushing in four times from 2010-14, placing as high as 12th in 2012. In addition, Lawrence has coached four players to All-Centennial Conference honors, including Centennial Conference Player of the Year and AFCA All-American Tom Sturges '08 in 2007. He coached five all-conference players on the defensive side of the ball in his first stint at Gettysburg.

A native of McSherrystown, Pa., and a graduate of Shepherd College, Lawrence guided Bermudian Springs (Pa.) High School to a league championship in his first season as a head coach (1982). Most recently, he spent 16 years as the head coach at New Oxford (Pa.) High School from 1989-2004, leading the Colonials to a PIAA District III AAA runner-up finish in 1996 and a YAIAA Division I crown in 2002.

Lawrence, who also holds a master's degree from George Mason University, recently completed a 33-year career in public education, serving as an economics teacher for 23 years and an assistant principal for 10 years at New Oxford.