Doug Saver is a retired American high school football coach and active high school athletic director. He was the head coach of his alma mater, St. Francis High School. He coached the Mariners for 29 seasons, from 1990 through 2018. During this time he compiled a record of 154-129, winning 3 Parkland Conference championships, having a period where his teams qualified for the WIAA playoffs in 12 of 13 seasons, taking his teams to the playoffs a total of 17 times, and taking the Mariners to the WIAA Division 4 championship game in 2004.
Doug is the son of Audrey and William (Bill) Sarver. Bill is a member of the Illinois State University Athletic Hall of Fame, having starred in baseball, basketball, and football. Doug followed in his dad's footsteps by being an all-around athlete at St. Francis High School. Doug participated in football and basketball for 4 years, baseball for 5 years (WIAA rules allowed incoming freshmen and graduated seniors to participate in WIAA summer baseball), and golf for 2 years (he was unable to participate in golf all 4 years because boys' golf became a fall sport while he was in high school.) Doug earn honorable mention all-conference honors in football as a running back his senior year, basketball honorable mention all-conference as a junior, and 2nd team all-conference basketball honors as a senior as a point guard.
Doug's younger brother Dan and younger sister Sandy also attended SFHS.
While still attending SFHS, Doug coached Saturday morning recreation basketball from 1973 to 1975. In the summers he worked as baseball instructor and coach for the St. Francis Recreation Department. After graduating from SFHS in 1975, Doug attended UW-Whitewater for two years.
Upon returning to St. Francis in 1977, Doug became active in coaching youth sports. He coached youth basketball from 1977 to 1989, founded the St. Francis Warriors Youth Football program in 1978, served as its head coach from 1978 to 1991, and became its director at its founding. He has remained the director to the present time. He served as the SFHS boys and girls head track and field coach from 1982 to 1999. In 1985 he joined Dan Brunner's varsity football staff as an assistant, and when Brunner left after the 1989 season to move on to Hartford Union High School, Doug took over as the head coach.
Doug Sarver began his tenure as the head football coach at St. Francis High School in the 1990 season. His 29 years as head coach is the 2nd longest head coaching tenure for any sport in SFHS history, second only to Mike Szydlowski's 30-year tenure as girls basketball coach. He retired after the 2018 season, and was replaced by one of his assistants, Jeff Wallack.
Among Doug's favorite memories as head coach was upsetting rival Franklin High School in 1992 to regain the "gold shovel" that the schools battled for each season. Since 1992 was the last season that Franklin was in the Parkland Conference, St. Francis has retained the shovel since 1992.
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Doug Sarver continues to serve as the athletic director at SFHS. He plans to stay through the 2025âÂÂ26 school year, and he is overseeing the installing of an artificial turf surface at the St. Francis High School football stadium. In addition, he is active in these community service projects: