A Chargers football legend in the mid-90s, Brad Affholter has returned to Hillsdale College as a coach beginning in the summer of 2023 looking to help develop the next generation of elite Hillsdale offensive linemen. Now the head offensive line coach after three seasons assisting with the position, Affholter looks to continue adding to the Chargers' reputation as one of G-MAC's top schools for offensive lineman development.
In three years with Affholter working with the offensive line, Hillsdale has assembled a unit that dominates games on the ground, finishing second in the G-MAC in rushing yards per game in 2023 and first in 2024, and landing in the top four all three seasons. During that time, the Chargers have produced five All-G-MAC offensive linemen, including the 2024 Co-Offensive Lineman of the Year, as well as a NCAA DII All-American. The unit also paved the way for a 2023 Harlon Hill Finalist and a 2025 G-MAC Freshman of the Year at running back.
Affholter first came to Hillsdale College from Wyandotte, Michigan in the fall of 1993 as a player, and excelled as a four-year starter at right guard for the Chargers, anchoring the line through four winning campaigns under legendary head coach Dick Lowry and being named the MIFC Offensive Lineman of the Year as well as the Hillsdale College Offensive Lineman of the Year in his senior season in 1996.
After graduating from Hillsdale in the spring of 1997, Affholter took a job as a math teacher and coach at nearby Reading High School, roughly 10 miles southeast of Hillsdale. For 25 years, Affholter was a top assistant for the Reading High School football team under legendary head coach Rick Bailey, helping the Rangers to 21 MHSAA playoff appearances, four trips to the MHSAA state semifinals, and Division 8 state titles in 2018 and 2019 in that span. Affholter also helped coach the Reading baseball team from 1997 to 2022, serving as an assistant on Reading's 2007 Division 4 MHSAA state championship team and leading the Rangers baseball program as the head coach from 2014 to 2022.
In the summer of 2023, with all three of his sons having graduated from Reading High School, Affholter made the decision to return to his alma mater and join the Chargers coaching staff for the 2023 season.
Affholter married Darcy, also a Hillsdale College alumnus and former volleyball player for the Chargers from 1993 to 1996, shortly after graduation in 1997, and together they have had four children. All three of his sons -- twin brothers Ben and Nick Affholter, and younger brother Zac -- have played or currently play football at Hillsdale College as part of the Chargers' offensive line. Affholter's youngest child, Abby, is entering college this fall. The family lives in Quincy, Michigan.
