Northern Michigan University

Andy Keller was named the head Nordic ski coach at Northern Michigan University in June of 2021. Keller served as associate head coach during the 2020-21 season and was the Wildcats’ Assistant Coach for three years prior.

In 2022-23, Keller coached the Wildcats to a second-place finish at regionals in Ishpeming, highlighted by Merle Richter claiming gold in the 20KM Mass Start. Kristoffer Karsrud won gold in both the Freestyle and Classic Sprint at the U.S. National Championships in Houghton, the first win for the program at Nationals in any event since 2015, and Lauren McCollor finished as the top U-20 Junior in the Skate Sprint at the same event. Four Wildcats represented the team at Nationals to end the season, as Northern earned 20.5 team points to place 14th. The team excelled in the classroom, with nine total student-athletes earning spots on the 2022-23 GLIAC All-Academic Team.

In 2022, the men's and women's teams combined to finish in 10th place among Nordic programs at the 2022 NCAA Championships.

Keller has been key in the success of the daily operations of the NMU program since his arrival in 2017. He has also been solely responsible for the design and implementation of the strength training program for the team’s student-athletes. 

While Keller has been with the Wildcats the team has had 15 All-America honorees and one individual NCAA champion. 

In his year as the associate head coach, NMU had five All-America honorees, including a podium finish, at the 2021 NCAA Skiing Championships. The women’s team placed third at the National Championships, which was its highest finish since 2014.

Prior to his time with the NMU Nordic team, Keller spent five years with the Central Cross Country Skiing Association (CXC). He spent 2012-14 as the head coach of the Junior Development program, which featured four All America honorees, one U.S. National Champion, 17 Junior National Team qualifiers, and one U18 Scandanavian Cup qualifier. He designed the athlete training program for CXC and also helped train skiers in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota.  

In October of 2014, Keller became the Director of Senior, Junior, and Post Graduate Programs at CXC. He was responsible for the management of the program, as well as athlete training programs. The team had one U.S. National Champion and one World Championship qualifier. Keller also organized the College Summer Residency Program in Marquette, Mich., with the NMU Olympic Training Site.

Keller has also served on the staff for three World Junior and U23 World Championship teams.

Collegiately, Keller competed in Nordic skiing and cross country running at Michigan Technological University where he earned a bachelor's degree in exercise science with a minor in coaching fundamentals.