When Eli Gardner was searching for a college where he could play football and major in sports management, Western New England University in Springfield, Massachusetts, became his landing spot.
"My father (Bill Gardner) and I drew a three-hour radius from our home," said Gardner, a 2004 Delaware Valley Regional High School graduate who lived in Holland Township. "Western New England was a place I could play (Division III) football, and they had a sports management major. I was thinking someday I could work in the front office of a (professional) sports team."
Funny how life works out sometimes.
Gardner followed his passion and landed the ultimate sports management job just before he turned 30 years old. In 2016, Gardner was named the head football coach at Stonehill College, located in North Easton, Massachusetts.
On Saturday afternoon, Gardner will bring his Skyhawks to Fisher Stadium to play Lafayette College in the penultimate regular-season game for both squads. Kickoff is 12:30.
"I remember when I was in grade school, I went to a basketball game at Lafayette. I can't remember who they played," Gardner said earlier this week. "I was even born in Easton Hospital, so I'm very familiar with the area. I've been on their campus, but this will be the first time I'll be in their stadium."
The 38-year-old Gardner was a three-year starter at defensive end/linebacker and served as a captain his senior season at Western New England. He remained at his alma mater for another year as the defensive line coach and video coordinator under his coach Keith Emery.
The following season, Gardner interviewed for an intern position at Stonehill coaching linebackers. He was a finalist for the job but wasn't selected. However, just prior to the start of training camp, Gardner was contacted by Stonehill coach Robert Talley, who wanted to hire the former Delaware Valley multi-sport standout fulltime as the special teams coordinator and linebackers coach.
Gardner consulted with his parents and Emery, who encouraged his former player to take the job.
Four days later, Gardner accepted Talley's offer, and he's never left the school, which is situated between Providence, Rhode Island, and Boston.
Gardner said as a young assistant coach – he was 23 at the time of his hiring – Stonehill was the perfect place for him. He saw advancement opportunities on the staff, and he loved what the college offered.
"I've been here 16 years as a coach, seven as an assistant and nine as the head coach," said Gardner, who lives in nearby Bridgewater with his wife, Stephanie, and son Camden. "There's the combination of a great atmosphere and community here. For me, there was a little luck involved. I was able to get promoted after a couple of years at a young age, which put me ahead of the curve."
In 2011, Gardner was promoted to defensive coordinator and in 2014 added the title of associate head coach. When Talley resigned in April 2016 to take an administrative position at a college in California, Gardner was hired two months later as Stonehill's head coach.
Stonehill, like Lafayette, is a private college with an undergraduate enrollment of a little more than 2,500 students situated near a town (Easton) of 25,000. It's among the top liberal arts colleges in the country.
But that's about where the similarities end. Lafayette will be celebrating its 200th anniversary in 2026. Stonehill was founded in 1948.
Lafayette will be playing Lehigh next weekend for the 160th time in college football's most-played rivalry. The Skyhawks – then known as the Chieftains – played club level football from 1970-87 before moving up to Division III for a decade.
Stonehill stepped up to Division II and competed in the Northeast-10 Conference until the school decided to elevate its athletics program to Division I prior to the 2022-23 school year. The football program, like Lafayette and its Patriot League rivals, competes at Division I's Football Championship Subdivision as a member of the Northeast Conference.
"It had been in the works for a few years," Gardner said. "There were a lot of things going on behind the scenes that we weren't privy to. The last year (2021) we were Division II, I began to have conversations with our athletic director about what my thoughts were about joining the Northeast Conference. I figured where there was smoke, there was fire."
Stonehill's move to Division I athletics was part of a bigger picture to improve the profile of the school, Gardner said.
"We're in a very competitive market here. It's an area with a lot of great schools, and we're all competing for a lot of the same student-athletes," Gardner said. "One of the ways Stonehill could differentiate itself in the market was to make this move. We're a small, liberal arts school that's unique, similar to some of the Patriot League schools. By being Division I, the school can reach a bigger audience. Our men's basketball team just played at Notre Dame, and we're coming down to play Lafayette."
Fans of high school football in the lehighvalleylive.com region already know that Stonehill has made inroads into this area. Northampton's record-setting running back Caden Henritzy is starting as a freshman at linebacker for the Skyhawks. Pen Argyl's record-setting wide receiver Damian Tyminski also has seen action in his first season.
"Caden had an awesome career at Northampton," Gardner said. "He came up here in June and has started the last three or four games for us. He's already ahead of the curve. He's a physical linebacker who we believe is going to be really successful here.
"And Damian is a good athlete with a big body. He's working himself in on the perimeter, and it's good to see he's getting better as he gets more and more reps. Also, our starting right tackle, Thaibri Rogers, is a Pa. kid from Bonner-Prendie (Catholic) in Philadelphia."
While competing in Division II, recruiting in Pennsylvania and western New Jersey wasn't as fruitful for obvious reasons.
"We recruited down into Maryland when we were still Division II, but it was difficult recruiting in Pennsylvania because of all the (Division II) Pennsylvania Conference schools. Now, that we're up a level and with three Northeast Conference schools in Pennsylvania (Duquesne, Robert Morris and Saint Francis), we believe we have a unique product to offer a recruit."
Stonehill was 4-5 overall and 2-5 in the NEC in its 2022 debut season, and it was 5-5, 4-3, in 2023. Last year, the Skyhawks dealt NEC champion Duquesne its only conference loss. They also faced their first two opponents from the Patriot League – defeating Georgetown 23-20 and falling to then No. 22-ranked Fordham 44-0.
This fall, injuries and youth have contributed for Stonehill's 1-8 record. The Skyhawks' victory came over Sacred Heart (35-21), a team Lafayette defeated 31-17 on Oct. 19.
"The last two years, we were much older in our roster, and that's why we had success," Gardner said. "This year, we are extremely young. Of the 110 guys we brought to camp, 70 were sophomores and freshmen. With some of the injuries we've had, some of those guys have had to step up and play. We're still trying to win now."
What can fans going to Fisher Stadium on Saturday expect from an Eli Gardner coached team?
"The biggest things are we are going to be disciplined, smart, tough and gritty," said Gardner, whose team has committed the fewest penalties in the NEC. "We'll be prepared and fly around and play with great effort. Our guys are excited to play football and make plays."
Gardner said he's naturally more hands-on with the defense. His offensive coordinator, Tyler Moody, has been at Stonehill for the last 14 seasons. Kyle Jones, the defensive coordinator, is in his seventh season and is also a Western New England graduate.
Three of Stonehill's last four games of the season are in Pennsylvania. The Skyhawks played at Saint Francis in Loretto on Nov. 2. Next week, they conclude the season at Robert Morris, located just outside of Pittsburgh.
Saturday's game, though, is right in Gardner's backyard. He lived in Pohatcong Township through fourth grade. His parents, Bill and Donna, who graduated from Delaware Valley and Voorhees, respectively, won't be there because they've moved to Montana, but Gardner expects to look into the stands and see many familiar faces.
"It's going to be pretty interesting," Gardner said. "All my (college) playing and coaching has been in New England, so to go back and see locations where I grew up, I think there will be a lot of friends from my hometown who are coming to see our team play. That's exciting to me. And we're playing the defending Patriot League champions on their senior day."
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Corky Blake can be reached at sports@lehighvalleylive.com.
