London adds another ex-UR staffer

  
Atkinson becomes fourth to follow coach to UVa.

Staff Report
UVa. sports: www.virginiasports.com

Virginia head football coach Mike London has added Steve Atkinson to his staff as the director of player development. Atkinson rejoins London after spending the last two seasons as the director of football operations at Richmond.

“I have been lucky to spend the past two seasons with Steve and he will be bringing a lot of practical experience to UVa,” said London. “He has a vast knowledge of the areas that impact our student-athletes and will be an excellent off-the-field resource for them to maximize their total experience at UVa. He will be a tremendous benefit to the program.”

Atkinson directed the day-to-day operations of the Richmond football office as the Spiders won the FCS National Championship in 2008 and most recently, a CAA co-championship in 2009. Prior to Richmond, Atkinson was the defensive coordinator at Fitchburg State College in Massachusetts and served the same role for the varsity club team at George Mason over a four-year span. Atkinson served as the webmaster for the George Mason varsity club football site, recruiting coordinator and camp director.

Prior to coaching at George Mason, Atkinson spent three seasons at Paul VI High School in a bevy of roles, including offensive and defensive coordinator, offensive line coach and head coach of the junior varsity

squad. In 1999, Atkinson was the defensive coordinator for the Paul VI team that won the WCAC championship, as their season culminated with a win over nationally ranked DeMatha. He also spent the 2001 season as the running backs and secondary coach at Osbourn High School. He worked at Paul VI from 1997 to 2007 as a facility manager.

A 2004 graduate of National-Louis University, Atkinson earned his bachelor of science degree in management. He and his wife Pam have three children, Katie, Zak and Tori. His uncle, Steve Garban, is a former football team captain at Penn State and vice chairman of the Penn State Board of Trustees where he also serves as the vice president for finance and operations.