Chris Vega completed his first season as an assistant coach with the Kutztown University football program in 2022.
Vega comes to the Golden Bears following five seasons on staff at NCAA Division III Wilkes University. He started as the defensive backs coach with the Colonials in 2017 and was elevated to defensive coordinator under head coach Jonathan Drach in 2021.
Vega excelled in his first season as DC, with Wilkes allowing just 20.8 points per game en route to a 6-4 record. It was good for the fifth lowest-scoring defense in the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) and the program's fewest points allowed per game in more than a decade. Vega's unit ranked third in the MAC in passing efficiency defense (107.11), turnovers gained (18) and interceptions (14). The Colonials also posted the league's fourth-best red zone defense, stopping opposing offenses 69.7% of the time.
While Wilkes' 2020 season was canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Vega's impact on the Colonial secondary was evident in 2019 when they registered 15 interceptions, second most in the MAC and 38th in all of Division III.
Vega is no stranger to current KU head coach Jim Clements. The Mountain Top, Pa., native spent all four seasons of his collegiate playing career as a defensive back on Clements-coached teams at Delaware Valley University from 2010-13. Vega was part of Aggie teams that won two MAC titles, two NCAA DIII playoff games and the 2012 ECAC Southeast Bowl. He totaled 109 tackles, nine interceptions and recovered three fumbles.
A 2014 Delaware Valley graudate, Vega earned his bachelor's degree in business management.
Updated 6/5/2023
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