Garth Heikkinen, who made a name for himself as one of the most decorated players in the storied history of UMD football, was hired as the Bulldogs' new offensive line coach in May 2019.
During his debut season in that post, Heikkinen tutored a quartet of Bulldogs who secured All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference recognition -- sophomore tackle Brent Laing (first team), junior offensive guard Noah LeBlanc (first team), senior center Zach Oruro (second team) and redshirt freshman offensive guard Treyvon Cahalan (honorable mention)
A Duluth Central High School alumnus, Heikkinen capped off his remarkable collegiate career in 2012 by winning the the Gene Upshaw National Division II Lineman of the Year Award. In January 2013, he also became just the second Bulldog ever to play in the East-West Shrine Game, joining future New England Patriot and Green Bay Packer offensive lineman Dave Viaene (1988) in that exclusive group. As a senior co-captain, Heikkinen was chosen to a then-Bulldog record six different All-American teams -- Associated Press (Little All-American first team), American Football Coaches Association (first team), d2football.com (first team), Daktronics (first team), Don Hansen (first team) and Beyond Sports College Network (second team) All-American teams after starting a program-best 54 consecutive games over four seasons. UMD's first four-time All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference honoree (North Division first team in 2010-12 and honorable mention in 2009), he also anchored an offensive line that paved the way for the third highest-scoring offense in NCAA II football (a school-record 46.5  points per game). In 2011, Heikkinen attained All-American status from five different groups including the AFCA (first team), D2Football.com (first team), Daktronics (first team), Associated Press (Little All-American second team), and Beyond Sports College Network (honorable mention). Since Heikkinen took over a starting role in the 2009 opener, the Bulldogs went 47-7, captured one NCAA II national championship (2010), four overall NSIC titles and four NSIC North Division crowns, qualified for the NCAA II playoffs four times, and cracked the top 15 in every AFCA II weekly poll. He was chosen UMD's Outstanding Male Senior Athlete for 2012-13 and took part in the Minnesota Vikings' 2013 Rookie Training Camp.
This past April, Heikkinen was among 50 individuals chosen to the D2Football.com All-Decade Team (2010-19), earning a spot on the 25-member first team.
Heikkinen served as a graduate assistant coach with the Bulldogs from 2013-15 before working for Universal Athletic (sales representative) and Ameriprise (customer service representative) in Duluth. He graduated from UMD in 2012 with a B.S. Degree in criminology.
