This time Robert Talley is home to stay. The long-time coach is the new director of development for athletics at Chico State.

"For me it always goes back to the student-athletes," said Talley. "Seeing students grow on a day-to-day basis has always been my passion. Having the opportunity to enhance their experience here at Chico State is really exciting for me."
 
Talley's wife, Sarah, grew up just west of Chico, attending Capay Elementary and Hamilton High Schools.
 
"We've owned a home here for 10 years and always knew we wanted to raise our kids in this area," said Talley. "We've spent most of our summers here. This is where we want to be."
 
Talley is also staying home in collegiate athletics. He has spent 23 of the past 25 years as a college football coach. Most recently he spent nine years as the head coach at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts. The other two were spent working for the San Francisco 49ers as a special assistant to the head coach.
 
"I always knew I would transition out of coaching. It was more a matter of what I would transition to," said Talley. "I've done a lot of fundraising over the last nine years and it has become something I enjoy doing. This is an ideal situation because I'm staying in collegiate athletics and doing something I have really grown to love doing."
 
In addition to managing 100 student-athletes and supervising 10 staff at Stonehill, Talley also served as the program's lead fundraiser, engaging hundreds of alumni, parents, and community members to support student-athletes.
 
"I'm so excited to have Rob on board," said Ahmad Boura, Vice President for University Advancement. "I'm confident that his passion for helping student-athletes succeed on and off the field and his track record of generating funding for new facilities, equipment, training, and scholarships will lead to many new resources and opportunities for our Wildcats."
 
Chico State Director of Athletics Anita Barker is equally thrilled.
 
"Rob is a great addition to our department," said Barker. "His combination of fundraising skills, background in athletics, and appreciation of our community make him a wonderful fit."
 
Talley holds a BS in business administration from Boston University and is working toward a master's in management and leadership from Western Governors University.
 
A linebacker at Boston University, Talley set the school record for tackles.
 
He began his coaching career at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, spent one season at Colby College, and then eight years at Dartmouth College. His first head-coaching job came at Stonehill after spending two seasons working under Norv Turner and Mike McCarthy for the 49ers.
 
Talley also spent five summers in the NFL Minority Coaching Fellowship Program as an assistant coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, New England Patriots and New York Giants.
 
At Stonehill, Talley was the 2013 New England Football Writers Division II/III Coach of the Year and a Liberty Mutual Division II Coach of the Year finalist.
 
Talley is starting a new journey at Chico State, but he's comfortable in his new chair.
 
"I feel like I'm doing what I've been doing it my entire life: building relationships, getting to know people and learning from their experiences, and sharing my experiences as well," Talley said. "I'm excited to work with the coaches and administrators that have made that athletics department at Chico State so successful. I have a lot of respect for what they do year in and year out. They are doing things the right way."
 
The Talley's have two sons: Jackson – 7, and Spencer – 4.