When home calls, it’s hard to ignore it.
That was the case for Justin Bogunia, who is set to become the new Bremen High School football head coach. The news was announced by the school Saturday, May 3, and is expected to become official at the next school board meeting Wednesday, May 14.
Bogunia is a 1992 Bremen graduate. As a sophomore, he was a starting outside linebacker for the 1989 IHSAA Class 1A state champion Lions football team. He also started at tight end his final two seasons at Bremen.
“It’s always good to go home, right?” Bogunia said. “A lot of good memories. Hopefully, I can put something together the community can be proud of. … I just hope I can give back even a little bit of what it’s given me.”
Bogunia takes over for Jordan Leeper, who announced his resignation in March, citing health concerns. Leeper went 62-44 in nine seasons, winning sectional and regional titles in 2018.
Bogunia played college football at the University of Evansville. He immediately returned to the area after graduation, getting an assistant coaching position at John Glenn High School. In 1998, at the age of 23, Bogunia was promoted to head coach for the Falcons.
All Bogunia did at Glenn was win. He had 14-straight .500 or better seasons to begin his tenure, then went 5-6 in his last year of 2012. They won Class 2A sectional titles in 2001 and 2004, adding a regional championship in ’04 as well. Bogunia’s 101-67 record is the most wins for a head coach in Glenn program history.
Bogunia left Indiana altogether following the 2012 season, becoming an assistant coach at Lipscomb Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, from 2013-19.
“I definitely had a great experience when I was down there,” said Bogunia of his time at Lipscomb Academy. “I think anytime you can take yourself out of your comfort zone and open to new ideas, optimal learning is taking place. … I grew a lot in those seven or eight years being under someone else, learning different coaching schemes and styles of coaching. It’s made me a better coach.”
Bogunia returned to the area at the start of the new decade. He spent the 2021-23 seasons as the offensive coordinator at LaVille, working alongside people like Will Hostrawser and Jeff Kaiser that he had during his time at Glenn. He did not coach last season due to work conflicts.
Bremen, Glenn and LaVille are all in the same conference, the Indiana Northern State, which means those rivalry games will have a little extra juice now that Bogunia is on the Bremen sideline.
“I don’t think there’ll be animosity ― I think it’ll be a lot of fun,” Bogunia said.
Bogunia is excited to keep coaching alongside Jeff Janowski as well. Janowski was Bogunia’s coach when he played at Bremen, then joined Bogunia’s staff at both Glenn and LaVille. He is one of the many coaches Bogunia is thankful to have worked with on his coaching journey.
“I’d like to think I’m a blend of all of my experiences,” Bogunia said. “There were a lot of things I learned during my four years at Bremen that I’ll carry into this season as the head coach. … I’m very fortunate I’ve been able to spend a lot of good time with a lot of good people in the coaching world. There’s been a lot of influences from the coaching world that have gotten me to this point.”
Bremen is coming off a 7-5 season, losing to Andrean in a Class 2A sectional final. They will have to replace several key pieces, including do-it-all talents in Silas Laidig and Tyrus Graverson.
Bogunia is self-employed and will remain that way for at least the 2025-26 school year. He has past administrative experience, working as the Glenn athletic director his last nine years with the school. He and his wife, Cayce, live in Bremen.
Follow Austin Hough on X (formerly Twitter) @AustinRHough and on Facebook at “Austin Hough – South Bend Tribune.” Hough can be emailed at ahough@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Veteran coach Justin Bogunia tabbed to lead Bremen program
