Albany State University Athletics

Dan Land is no stranger to ASU athletics, as he enters his second year as the head football coach. Overall, Land is entering his 15th season as a Golden Rams coach. In his first season, he led the team to a 6-4 overall record and an appearance in the SIAC Championship game. Land joined the ASU Golden Rams football squad as a running back in 1983 and enjoyed a stellar football career. Land earned honors in high school, collegiate and professional athletics. In 1984, he was part of the first S.I.A.C Football Championship team at Albany State College. 

Land's interest in football sparked when he joined the 1979 Seminole County High School Indians football team, where he was a four-year letterman and all-star running and defensive back.

As an Albany State Golden Ram, Land was a two-time All-Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) team member. He led the Rams in rushing as a junior with 1,299 yards and 1,396 yards as a senior. He also led the team and the SIAC in rushing touchdowns.

His collegiate success led him to the National Football League (NFL). The Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted him as a running back in 1987, and he later played with the Oakland Raiders as a defensive back.

Land, who earned his graduate and undergraduate degrees from ASU, served as director of athletics at Albany State from November 1998 until June 2001. Land is also an instructor in ASU's Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation.

In 2005, Land was inducted into the Albany State University’s Sports Hall of Fame. He is also a member of Pleasant Hill Missionary Baptist Church of Albany, Ga. where he serves as a member of the Deacon Board.

Land and his wife, former ASU cheerleader Theresa Spurlin, are the parents of two daughters, Dannisha and Mimeaux, and one son Dan Land, Jr. and a grandson named Lathan. Dannisha is also an ASU graduate. His daughter Mimeaux attends Clemson University where she is a member of the Lady Tigers' track & field team. Dan Land, Jr. is a sophomore at Westover Comprehensive High School where he also plays on the Patriots football team.