Coach Fankhauser has led the Cavs, as Head Football Coach since 2018. Previously, he spent 19 years serving as Associate Head Coach/Co-Defensive Coordinator, handling all aspects of the Cavs' special teams and the defensive line. Hired under Walsh's first football head coach Jim Dennison, Fankhauser has coached both offensive and defensive positions as well as serving as the program's longtime special teams' coordinator.
In 2024, the Walsh Football program climbed to new heights and made a new mark on over 35 categories in the programs record book. The season had many highlights including two first time wins over both Hillsdale and Ashland. Ashland, at the time, was ranked 4th in the region. The team also was featured in 2 National rankings: T18th in turnovers lost and 19th in turnover margin. On an individual level, 4 Cavs were named All-Conference, including 2 time G-MAC Defensive Player of the Year, Cam Hollobaugh.
The most decorated student-athlete in recent football history, Hollobaugh's career at Walsh included 2 G-MAC Defensive Player of the Year titles, 2 time G-MAC First Team All-Conference, 2 time D2CCA All-Region First Team Defense, AFCA All-American First Team, and a Cliff Harris award finalist.
The Cavs also had a Co-Freshman of the Year in 2023 with Anthony Harris.
During his assistant coach tenure at Walsh, Coach Fankhauser was an integral part of the program as it transitioned from the NAIA to the NCAA, and from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) to the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC), where the team finished 4-3 during its inaugural year in 2017. Coach Fankhauser has been willing and able to assume a multitude of roles throughout his tenure, always ready to take on new challenges and responsibilities to help the program be successful.
Before joining Walsh in 1998, Coach Fankhauser served as a student assistant at Youngstown State University where he was a member of the 1992 national runner-up team and the 1993 and 1994 championship teams. John coached special teams (1995-96) and graduated with a B.A. in history and a minor in psychology. In addition to his coaching duties at Walsh, Fankhauser has served 17 years as Walsh's head athletics groundskeeper and was an assistant coach for the women's basketball team from 1998 to 2004.
John's commitment to mentorship and service extends beyond the athletic field. He has been active in coordinating Cavalier athletic service opportunities in the local community, YMCA Youth Football Training Camp and, for the past ten years, he has been an active volunteer with Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Stark County.
John earned his master's degree in education from Walsh in 2006 and resides in North Canton with his wife, Walsh alumna, Christine (Anderson), daughter Emilia, and son Anderson.
