User:Paulmcdonald/College Football/3

Michael Norman Gardner (born March 9, 1967, in Roeland Park, Kansas ) is currently the coach at Tabor College in Hillsboro, Kansas. Having left Tabor for Malone in 2006, Gardner was chosen to replace Mike Gottsch after Tabor's winless 2009 season.

Mike played college football for NAIA school Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas from 1986 to 1990, where he held a school record 53 yard field goal that was broken in 2007. He was an All-American each of his last three years at Baker

Gardner served as the Defensive Coordinator at Tabor from 2001 to 2003 and helped guide the Bluejays to their first-ever NAIA national playoff appearance in 2003 and a #15 NAIA national ranking. He was named the AFCA NAIA Assistant Coach of the Year and the AFLAC Assistant Coach of the Year for the 2003 season. His 2003 defense ranked 11th in the final NAIA statistics while his 2002 team ranked an impressive second overall. In 2005, Gardner was named Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference "Co-Coach" of the year along with Saint Mary coach Lance Hinson.

As a player, Gardner was a three-time NAIA All-American and a four-time All-Conference selection while at Baker University (KS) and he played for a national championship in 1986. He has been involved in 10 national playoff games as a player and eight as a coach and his 2005 Tabor squad won its first-round playoff contest.

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