University of Maine Athletics

Kurt von Bargen began his appointment as the defensive line coach for the Black Bears on Jan. 18, 2019. Von Bargen begins his third season on staff in 2021.

In his first year at UMaine, von Bargen had the pleasure of mentoring All-CAA first team selection Kayon Whitaker and All-CAA third team honoree Charles Mitchell. The duo headlined a defensive line which produced 26 sacks, led by Whitaker's 9.0 tallies on the year.
 
Prior to joining UMaine, Von Bargen spent his previous four seasons as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Chowan University in North Carolina. In his first season at Chowan, the defensive unit improved in virtually every defensive category including an impressive 20.1 points decline in points per game allowed. During his four-year tenure, the program finished with the best four-year record in school-history, including the first-ever back-to-back winning seasons. On the defensive unit, the 2016 squad ranked in the top-three of the league in points allowed and checked in first in turnovers forced.
 
Before his tenure at Chowan, von Bargen served three seasons as a defensive assistant at the University of South Florida, working closely with the linebackers and defensive line. At USF, von Bargen also assisted in coaching the punt return, kickoff coverage and kickoff return units.
 
Von Bargen began his coaching career in 2009 where he spent one season as the outside linebackers coach at the United State Coast Guard Academy. From there, he moved on to Trinity where he mentored the outside linebacker unit for two seasons before a short stint on staff at Dartmouth.
 
During his playing days, von Bargen was a four-year varsity defensive back at East Carolina University. While at ECU, von Bargen played in three Bowl games while helping lead the Pirates to the 2008 Conference USA Championship. Individually, von Bargen was named the Scout Team Special Teams Player of the Year and Scout Team Defensive Player of the Year over his time at ECU.
 
Von Bargen earned his B.S. in Health Education and Promotion from ECU and is currently working on his Masters in American Studies through Trinity.