Bob Lichty is in his second season on the UW-La Crosse football coaching staff in 2017. Lichty joined the staff after 43 years as an assistant coach and coordinating the 3-Dimensional Character Development Program for coaches and athletes. A native of Waterloo, Iowa, Lichty graduated from Columbus High School. He played football his freshman year at the University of Northern Iowa and then served in the U.S. Army for three years before transferring to UW-Eau Claire, where he earned his bachelor's degree.
He began his coaching career in 1973 at UW-Eau Claire assisting with the offensive line. Lichty started coaching the offensive line at UW-Stout in 1974 while earning his master's degree. He spent the next four years at Wausau (Wis.) Newman High School as an assistant football and track & field coach and head wrestling coach. Lichty coached at Mount Senario College (Wis.) from 1978-87, serving the first five seasons as the defensive coordinator before taking over as head coach in 1984 for four years. He was named the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Coach of the Year in 1985 and 1987 after leading Mount Senario to league titles.
Spending the next 26 years coaching high school football at Bruce (Wis.), Ladysmith (Wis.) and Menomonie (Wis.) High School, Lichty returned to coach the linebackers at UW-Stout in 2014. He spent the 2015 season coaching at UW-Eau Claire.
Lichty and his wife, Carolyn, have two children and three grandchildren.
