The qualities that define Mario Cristobal are what will ultimately drive FIU football to continued success: passion, leadership, relentlessness, focus, integrity, commitment, enthusiasm, intelligence, fearlessness, vision, confidence, competitiveness and ambition-all of which have earned Cristobal a reputation as one of the country's best recruiters and the opportunity to lead FIU.

Named the second head football coach in FIU history on December 19, 2006, Cristobal has implemented his philosophy of hard work and dedication, which has already begun paying quick dividends both on the field and in the classroom.

The 2008 season saw a different FIU squad take the field as Cristobal's influence started to take hold. The Panthers won five games, just one shy of being FBS bowl eligible and tied the program's record for most wins in a single season. The team lost three games by a touchdown-or-less. Following the turn-around season, FIU was awarded with a number of post-season honors. Cristobal himself was named Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year by The Sporting News.

But Cristobal always realizes that success in the fall doesn't end with the final whistle in December. The head coach personally logs thousands of miles each off-season recruiting, attempting to attract top high school and junior college talent to South Florida. That effort apparently worked with a February 2010 Singing Day harvest that netted FIU Football arguably its best-ever recruiting class , which included FIU's first-ever ESPN top-150 recruit in Willis Wright, and has been ranked by some recruiting services as the best in the Sun Belt Conference. 2009's recruiting class included a pair of four-star performers in "Pooh Bear" Mars and Dudley LaPorte. In fact, ESPN ranked Cristobal's recruiting class No. 50 nationally, ahead of well-known programs like North Carolina State, Colorado, Purdue, Cincinnati and Ball State..

But Cristobal expects more than just effort on the field. He demands effort in the classroom, as well. After just one year on the job, not only did his Panthers record their highest grade point average in the history of the program, but they also saw 31-percent of the team achieve academic honors of between a 3.0-4.0 GPA.

And that's not all. Last spring, the NCAA commended Cristobal with regards to the team's 74-point increase in the all-important Academic Progress Rate (APR) for, "the improved academic performance of the football team since the arrival of [Cristobal] in December 2006."

But Cristobal does not demand anything from his student-athletes that he wouldn't demand of himself. Hours in the weight room are a prerequisite to winning football games at this level and Cristobal "walks the walk" in that regard. This summer, he was named No. 1 by ESPN The Magazine's Bruce Feldman on the list of college football's Workout Warriors: Coaches Edition.

Cristobal embodies the culture, sophistication and attitude of the City of Miami. Born in the Magic City, Cristobal's roots as a coach, player, recruiter and person are embedded in arguably the nation's most talent-rich area for football. Cristobal spent his prep career at Miami's Christopher Columbus High School, his college days at the University of Miami and a coaching career under mentors with Miami ties. He knows the demands of the South Florida region and FIU are great and he embraces them.

Progress and success are all that Cristobal has known in his time as a player and coach. Cristobal came to FIU after successful coaching tenures at Miami and Rutgers, where he recruited and coached some of the best talent in the country.

The Coach

Prior to accepting the head coaching job at FIU, Cristobal coached at the University of Miami for three years under former head coach Larry Coker. The Hurricanes compiled a 24-12 record in that time with appearances in the 2004 and 2005 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowls and the 2006 Micron PC Bowl. Cristobal coached Miami's tight ends in the 2004 and '05 seasons, tutoring 2005 Buffalo Bills' third-round pick Kevin Everett, 2006 free agent signee Buck Ortega and 2007 Chicago Bears' first round selection Greg Olsen.

In 2006 Cristobal took over a Miami offensive line that featured four new starters, including a true sophomore at left tackle and a true freshman at right tackle. Despite coaching a unit wrought with inexperience and riddled by injuries throughout the season, the UM offense saw a 39 percent decrease in sacks allowed from 36 to 22, only seven of which Cristobal's line was deemed responsible. Following that season, junior guard Derrick Morse was selected honorable mention All-ACC and true freshman tackle Jason Fox was named to the Rivals.com All-America Second Team.

While coaching at Rutgers from 2001-03 Cristobal helped set the table for one of the biggest success stories in the last 30 years of college football. Cristobal worked under head coach Greg Schiano, coaching the offensive tackles and tight ends for two seasons before shifting his focus solely to the offensive line in 2003.

He was a critical factor in Rutgers' resurgence to competitiveness and helped lay the foundation in recruiting and coaching for a program that went from obscurity to college football's upper echelon in a matter of five years. During Cristobal's tenure at Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights improved from records of 2-9 and 1-11 to a 5-7 mark in 2003, the school's best record since 1998. One of Cristobal's brightest pupils was tight end L.J. Smith, the Philadelphia Eagles' second-round pick in the 2003 NFL Draft and current starter.

It was at Rutgers that Cristobal put the first notches in his belt as a full-time coach and his talent as a coach and recruiter were recognized.

"I knew early in my relationship with Mario that someday he would be a head coach," Schiano said. "FIU landed a great man for the job."

Cristobal began his coaching career in 1998, when he joined the Miami Hurricanes staff as a graduate assistant, working with the Hurricanes for three seasons (1998-2000) under head coach Butch Davis. He helped his alma mater to a 29-8 record, three bowl wins and a pair of Big East Conference championships in that time.

"Mario Cristobal is an exceptional man with a great passion for football and people," Davis said. "He is an excellent recruiter and coach who has been around great football programs and I believe is an excellent choice for FIU. Coach Cristobal will make a huge impact on the program and will be dynamic in South Florida."

The Recruiter

Cristobal made it known early that he and his staff would not back away from a prospective student-athlete just because college football's big boys were also knocking on the door. That philosophy rang true not only in 2008, but also in 2009 when the FIU staff went head-to-head with BCS schools and signed coveted talent like tight end Dudley LaPorte (Stratford, Conn.), linebackers Larvez "Pooh Bear" Mars (Apopka, Fla.) and Miami-Dade County Defensive Player of the Year Kenneth Dillard (Northwestern HS/Miami), wide receiver Wayne Times (Northwestern HS/Miami), and running back Darian Mallary (Gulliver Prep/Miami) to National Letters of Intent. Those prospective student-athletes headlined what was considered the best recruiting class in FIU history.

Others, like Willie Foster. Clark Harris. Eric Foster. Jason Fox have one thing in common beyond their successes on the gridiron: Mario Cristobal recruited them and signed them. Defensive tackle Eric Foster (Homestead HS/Homestead, Fla.) joined Ray Rice in 2006 at Rutgers in becoming the school's first AP All-Americans since 1995. Wide receiver Willie Foster (Central HS/Miami) was the 2005 BIG EAST Special Teams Player of the Year. Rutgers tight end Clark Harris (Manahawkin, N.J.) was a three-time First Team All BIG EAST selection. A starting offensive tackle, Fox (North Crowley, Texas), was Miami's best lineman in 2006 and was named a Freshman All-American by Rivals.com.

They are some of the most-recent examples of talented student-athletes who Cristobal has recruited and who were willing to travel distances far and wide to play with the programs with which he was associated.

In The Community

The Miami native spent his first two years as head football coach at FIU doing more than just dedicating his time to his student-athletes on the field. He has made a commitment to making the city he grew up in all that it can be.

Cristobal has made dozens of appearances, speaking to civic groups, professional and youth organizations including the Latin Builders Association, FIU Student Government, the Brian Jenkins Camp, Big Brothers and Big Sisters and the Night of Champions, among others. He will also serve as the keynote speaker at the Baptist Hospital's South Miami Hospital Men's Health Day to promote healthy living to an audience of more than 300.

His message is clear to the young men he coaches and to the community: With everything you do, work to become a better student, a better athlete, a better father, a better son, a better brother, and a better neighbor. Work to become a better part of your community.

That message is part of the reason he was honored as a mentor for the 5000 Role Models of Excellence in November 2007. The project's mission is to intervene in the lives of at-risk boys, in order to provide them with alternatives that will lead them away from a life of crime and violence. Based in Miami-Dade County, the 5000 Role Models program serves 6,792 students in 89 schools, including 23 elementary, 33 middle and 33 senior high schools in Miami-Dade County Public Schools.

His involvement in the community dates back to his playing days, when he was a spokesperson for D.A.R.E. and the University of Miami's "Join A Team, Not A Gang" initiative. He also participated in the fifth Annual FIU Relay For Life last March in support of the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life campaign.

The Player

A 1993 graduate of Miami, Cristobal was a four-year letterman and member of the UM football team from 1988-92. He earned All-Big East honors as an offensive tackle during his 1992 senior season. Cristobal signed with Denver Broncos as an undrafted rookie in 1994 and played for the Amsterdam Admirals in NFL Europe in 1995 and '96 before beginning his coaching career.