BROOKVILLE, N.Y. — Brian Bonacci has joined LIU Athletics as director of football sports performance.

Bonacci arrives from Coastal Carolina, where he served as assistant director of strength and conditioning.

With the Chanticleers, he worked with the football, women's lacrosse, men's soccer, cheer and dance programs. He also maintained upkeep of the weight room and nutrition programs for all sports teams.

Bonacci previously served as a graduate assistant strength and conditioning coach at Mercer, also working with football programming, including to improve speed and agility.

He also has served as a part-time assistant strength and conditioning coach at Lynchburg and as a strength performance intern with Texas.

Bonacci earned a bachelor of science degree in kinesiology with an exercise science emphasis from Iowa State in 2016. He played four seasons as a walk-on football student-athlete with the Cyclones and received the Reuben J. Miller team award for outstanding role in the community.

He is pursuing a master's of higher education leadership.

Bonacci is a National Strength and Conditioning Association strength and conditioning specialist and is American Heart Association CPR and automated external defibrillator certified.
 
"I am extremely grateful and thankful for coach Ron Cooper and the LIU Administration for the opportunity to be able to positively impact and lead these young men," Bonacci said. "Working alongside someone like Coach Coop — where we have similar expectations of winning, culture, the relationships and everything in between — allows this to be something I could not turn down.

"Building quality relationships and creating a love for each other within the team is such a huge piece of strength and conditioning that I look forward to building within these men aside from the actual X's and O's of collegiate sports performance."