Coaching Experience
• Sprint Football Special Teams Coordinator, Cornell University (April 2026-Present)
• Football Running Backs Coach/Wide Receivers Coach, William Jewell College (2024-2026)
• Football Assistant Special Teams Coordinator, University of Central Missouri (2023-2024)
• Football Running Backs Coach/Academic Coordinator/Tight Ends & Fullbacks Coach, Avila University (2019-2023)
• Football Varsity Special Teams Coordinator & Asst. QBs, DBs, WRs Coach / Head JV Coach, Hogan Preparatory Academy (2017-2019)
• Football Assistant Head Coach, Police Athletic League (2013-2015)
Playing Experience
• University of Missouri-Columbia (2007-2011)
Education
• B.A., Interdisciplinary Studies, University of Missouri-Columbia (2011)
• M.Ed., Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology, University of Missouri-Columbia (2013)
At Cornell
Terrance Dennis joined the Cornell sprint football coaching staff in August 2026 as special teams coordinator. He coordinates all of the Big Red's special teams units and coaches the wide receivers.
Prior to Cornell
Dennis spent the previous two seasons at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri, coaching wide receivers in 2024 before moving to running backs in 2025. In his first season, he coached receivers AJ Austene and Jalen Bethany to All-GLVC honors. He also assisted with an offense that ranked fourth in the GLVC, averaging 25.9 points per game. In his second season with the program, he coached the GLVC's third-ranked kick return yardage leader, in Yasir Winston, with the distinct honor of coaching the late Micah Jo Barnett at running back.
Before that, he spent one season at the University of Central Missouri as the Assistant Special Teams Coordinator, helping the Mules to an MIAA championship and a second-round appearance in the NCAA Division II playoffs. He coached on the defensive side, mentoring all-MIAA defensive linemen Weston King and David Olajiga, and with special teams, where he coached kicker Luke Dobson to a school-record 67 consecutive PATs.
Dennis was on staff at Avila University for four seasons, going 32-9 during that span. He coached tight ends, fullbacks and specialists from 2019 to 2022, then running backs while also serving as team academic coordinator. The Eagles won conference championships in 2020 and 2022, and he coached 6 players to eleven All-Conference honors. Avila finished the 2022 season ranked No. 13 nationally in the NAIA, the highest finish in school history. He also coached All-America running back Malik Nesbitt, all-America all-purpose player Melvin Reid, and the No. 8 ranked kickoff return unit in the country.
His earlier stops include Hogan Preparatory Academy in Kansas City, where he was varsity special teams coordinator, offensive and defensive assistant and head JV coach, as well as head middle school coach in his first season at the school.
Dennis began his coaching career with the Police Athletic League in Kansas City, where he helped lead an undefeated 14U league championship team. He volunteered with the program while working full-time as a case management officer for Jackson County Family Court, using football to connect teenagers in the juvenile justice system with positive, prosocial activities. He assisted as offensive play-caller and managed all special teams units, including developing punters and long snappers.
Playing Career
Dennis walked on at the University of Missouri, where he played wide receiver and long snapper for the Tigers from 2007 to 2011. He then spent several years pursuing a professional career, playing in the Champions Professional Indoor Football League with the Kansas City Renegades, Omaha Beef, Mid-Missouri Outlaws and Kansas Koyotes.
He also started at wide receiver for Team America in three CDFL Bowl Games free agent showcases, including the first organized American football game ever played in Grand Cayman, where he caught the first pass of the game.
* Updated October 2026
