Chris Pincince is no longer the New Haven Chargers head coach, with defensive coordinator Mark Powell taking over. Pincince had been leading the Chargers since 2014 and was the school’s all-time wins leader. New Haven is joining NCAA Division I and the Northeast Conference for the 2025-26 academic year.
Pincince joined New Haven in 2014 after three years as the Offensive Coordinator, Running Backs coach, and Wide Receivers coach at Elon from 2011 through 2013. UNH posted winning records each of Pincince’s first four years but didn’t make the NCAA Division II Playoffs. That changed in 2018 when the Chargers went 8-1 in the Northeast-10 and posted a first round upset of West Chester. New Haven fell in the second round to Slippery Rock.
The team shared the first of five NE-10 titles under Pincince in 2019 but did not make the playoffs. After not playing during the 2020-21 season, the Chargers reeled off four straight NE-10 Championships and reached the NCAA D-II Playoffs each year from 2021 through 2024. New Haven was unable to get beyond the second round, including three straight first round losses in 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Pincince went 76-34 overall and 65-18 in NE-10 conference games at New Haven. He previously coached as an assistant at former FCS schools Elon (2011 – 2013), Rhode Island (2008 – 2010), Holy Cross (2004 – 2007), Brown (2002), and for the now-defunct football team, Fairfield (1997 – 1998). He also coached at New Haven in two separate stints from 1994 through 1996 and 1999 through 2001 before eventually becoming the head coach in 2014.
Mark Powell was the defensive coordinator at Darien High School in Darien, Connecticut for the 2023 and 2024 seasons. He has previous experience in the FCS with Fordham as the Defensive Coordinator in 2022, Austin Peay as the DC from 2019 through 2021, Villanova as a defensive assistant in 2015 and 2016, and Yale as a defensive assistant in 2014.
Photo Credit to the University of New Haven
