Paul Barnes was the head coach of the Shenandoah University football program from 2002 through the end of the 2012 season. This biography now exists as a historical reference.
After 10 full years as the head football coach at Shenandoah University, Paul Barnes has given the Shenandoah Hornets four things it had never accomplished in intercollegiate football: two conference championships, an NCAA playoff berth, a national ranking and a coach of the year honor.
Under Barnes' leadership, Shenandoah finished the 2003 campaign with an 8-2 overall record and 5-1 in the USA South Conference. The eight wins represents an all-time best at SU, and the 5-1 league mark was good enough to share for a conference title with Christopher Newport.
Barnes' club backed that stellar season up in 2004 with a 7-4 campaign that included another shared USA South Conference title with Christopher Newport. However, a 14-10 win over the Captains on October 2nd sent the Hornets to the NCAA playoffs for the first time in the five-year history of the program.
Shenandoah finished the 2003 season with the 18th best rushing offense in the nation and also was ranked in turnover margin and passing defense. SU also completed the season at the No. 23 team in the TeamRanks.com poll. This is the first time a Shenandoah football team has achieved a national ranking.
Barnes was named to the top job at Shenandoah on December 10, 2001 following program founder Walter Barr's retirement. He is the last remaining member of the original football staff and just one of two people on campus to have been part of every football game.
| Year | Overall | League | Place |
| 2002^ | 5-5 | 4-2 | 3rd |
| 2003^ | 8-2 | 5-1 | T1st |
| 2004^ | 7-4 | 5-1 | T1st |
| 2005^ | 2-8 | 0-7 | 8th |
| 2006^ | 2-8 | 1-6 | 8th |
| 2007^ | 2-8 | 2-5 | 6th |
| 2008^ | 3-7 | 2-5 | 6th |
| 2009^ | 1-9 | 0-7 | 8th |
| 2010^ | 4-6 | 4-3 | T3rd |
| 2011^ | 6-4 | 5-2 | 3rd |
| 2012* | 1-9 | 0-7 | |
| Totals | 41-70 | 28-46 |
|
| ^ USA South * Old Dominion |
Barnes was the first coach hired by Barr when the university reinstated football in June 1999; he came to SU from fellow USA South Conference member Ferrum College. The Baltimore, Maryland native was the offensive coordinator at Ferrum in 1997 and '98 and helped the Panthers to a 6-0 start in the 1998 campaign.
Barnes was an integral part of the effort to bring football back to Shenandoah after a 33 year absence. Barr, Barnes and Reed Prosser recruited a group of more than 100 students to play football on the first team in 2000. Of the 85 freshmen on the first team, 13 completed their eligibility following the 2003 season. That group of student-athletes won 22 games in four seasons and posted two four-game winning streaks and a five-game streak that continued into 2004.
Previous to his stint at Ferrum, Barnes was the defensive coordinator at Division II Glenville State for two years and the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator at Frostburg State University for 10 seasons. The Bobcats turned in winning seasons in each of his final eight years in Frostburg, went to the ECAC playoffs four times and made an NCAA Playoff appearance in 1993. FSU also reached new offensive heights during Barnes' tenure; they broke game and season rushing records as well as setting records for most touchdowns in a season, wins in a season and most consecutive victories.
Barnes, a 1982 James Madison University graduate, earned varsity letters in his final three seasons with the Dukes football program and served as a graduate assistant there until earning his master's degree in 1984. Barnes was voted the teams leadership and dedication award winner following his senior season.
Barnes also has held leadership roles within the coaching fraternity. In 2006, Barnes wrapped up a two-year term on the NCAA South Region ranking committee. In this role, Barnes participated in the weekly team polls as well as helping select the national championship tournament squads.
Barnes and his wife of 26 years, Dixie, have three children: Austin, 21 and a senior on the 2012 SU football team; Alex, 19; and Ashleigh, 15. They live in Stephenson.
