Joe Connolly

Head Coach of Football Sports Performance Joe Connolly will be entering his seventh year at ASU when the 2024 season starts.   --Joe Connolly named a Master Strength and Conditioning Coach (MSCC) by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches association (CSCCa/June of 2022) --Connolly’s career of touching lives translating to fatherhood (by Jesse Morrison, Devils Digest/Aug. 27, 2021) Building and directing a talented staff under the nutrition, sports science, and sports performance sector, Connolly has elevated the standard of strength training at Arizona State. As ASU Football’s head coach of sports performance, Connolly has developed, customized, and instilled a proprietary training system unique to each individual. Connolly’s reign as Head Coach of Football Sports Performance has also included the implementation of new technology and equipment.    Connolly has worked with several players that are now thriving at the next level. His program played a big role in helping Sun Devil wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk become a 2020 first round draft, making it consecutive years that ASU had a receiver taken in the first round. Running back Eno Benjamin was also selected in that draft.   The list of professionals he worked with during his time at ASU also includes 2019 NFL draft choices WR N’Keal Harry (first round) and Renell Wren (fourth round), who were beneficiaries of working with Connolly. Prior to the draft Wren was singled out as a player who had raised his draft profile at the NFL combine where the former Sun Devil defensive lineman had a breakout performance. Also working in Connolly’s program prior to professional careers were 2019 NFL rookie free agent signees OL Quinn Bailey, DB Jalen Harvey, OL Casey Tucker and QB Manny Wilkins.    The 2021 Sun Devil Football roster featured several future NFL players who are looked upon favorably in the upcoming 2022 NFL Draft. Connolly will be able to significantly add to his list of professionals to come through his program. Individuals like Rachaad White, Kellen Diesch, Dohnovan West, Darien Butler, D.J. Davidson, Chase Lucas, Jack Jones, and Evan Fields have transformed their bodies since arriving in Tempe, making them candidates to be drafted.   Connolly joined ASU from UMass, where worked primarily with the football team. In his first year with the program, Connolly helped develop Elijah Wilkinson – a 6-6, 329-pound offensive lineman who signed with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent and concluded the 2018 season as a starter on the Denver offensive line.   Connolly also oversaw the strength and conditioning development of tight end Adam Breneman. In 2017 Breneman was named to the USA TODAY College Football All-American Team as one of the two best tight ends in the country. He finished the 2017 campaign as the top-ranked tight end in the nation for receptions per game (5.8) and second for most receiving yards per game (69.5). Breneman became just the third Minuteman selected to a major, national All-America team.   A native of Barnstable, Mass., Connolly arrived in Amherst after seven seasons working with the football program at the University of South Carolina with Hall of Fame coach Steve Spurrier. During his time with the Gamecocks, he coached 45 NFL Draft picks, including the 2014 No. 1 selection Jadeveon Clowney. The Gamecocks went on to six straight bowl games, winning the SEC East in 2010, and went 5-2 against in-state rival Clemson during Connolly’s tenure. South Carolina was also one of three Power 5 teams that won 11 games for three consecutive years.   Prior to his arrival in Columbia, S.C., Connolly served as an assistant strength and conditioning coach at the University of Louisville. He worked with the Cardinal football program, primarily focusing on the skill position players. Connolly began his professional career at Harvard in 2007, assisting with all 41 sports, including the league’s championship football team. He was hired as a full-time assistant strength and conditioning coach with the Crimson in 2008 and served as the head strength and conditioning coach for men’s volleyball while continuing to assist with the other programs.   Connolly holds a Master of Science in physical education with a concentration in strength and conditioning from Bridgewater State, graduating magna cum laude in 2007. He is a 2004 graduate of the University of Hartford, where he earned degrees in criminal justice and sociology. He was a four-year letterwinner in baseball and was given the Senior Award for great sportsmanship and perseverance. Connolly is Strength and Conditioning Coach Certified (SCCC) by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches’ Association (CSCCA) and Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA).   Connolly is a current competitor in Olympic weightlifting, drug-free powerlifting, Highland games and strongman competitions. He is joined in Tempe by his wife Shalona and daughter Cali (born in August of 2021) and son Cade (born in November of 2023).   Bowl Game Experience: 2009 Papa John’s Bowl 2010 Chick-Fil-A Bowl 2011 Capital One Bowl 2012 Outback Bowl 2013 Capital One Bowl 2014 Independence Bowl 2018 Las Vegas Bowl 2019 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl 2021 Las Vegas Bowl