Lake Forest College

The 2025 season was Mark Dodd’s 11th at Lake Forest College and 17th in coaching. He works directly with the team’s tight ends and H-backs.

Lake Forest went 7-3 overall in 2025 and tied for second place in the Midwest Conference standings at 7-2 in league play. The Foresters are now 72-34 overall and 56-22 in the league with three conference championships and NCAA Playoff appearances in Dodd's 11 seasons with the team.  

Utilized as much for their blocking as their receiving, Forester tight ends and H-backs have caught 180 passes for 2,014 yards and 24 touchdowns since the start of 2019. They have also helped lead the offense to single-season scoring totals that rank among the top 10 in program history in each of the last eight full seasons. Tight end James Jordan caught a team-high five touchdown passes and was named First Team All-MWC and MWC Newcomer of the Year in 2025.

Dodd was the offensive line coach during his first stint at the College (2010-11). The Foresters averaged more than 26 points per game during the two seasons combined and set program records for points, total yards, and passing yards in 2011.

Dodd, 28-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, began his coaching career in 1996 while playing for the Hampton Road Sharks in the Mason-Dixon League. He was then the offensive line and strength & conditioning coach at Maury High School in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1997. Dodd served in the same capacity in 1998 with the post-graduate team at Hargrave Military Academy before going 14-6 the next two years as Hargrave’s head high school coach.

As a Navy SEAL Dodd was awarded Commendation with Valor during Operation Just Cause. He also served in Operations Desert Shield, Iraqi Freedom, and Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, where he earned a Bronze Star.

Dodd has three daughters and two grandchildren and lives in nearby Gurnee.