Who is Dan Lanning’s wife? All about Saufia Lanning

Dan Lanning has been married to his wife Saufia Lanning since 2009.

The football coach, who has coached the Oregon Ducks at the University of Oregon since 2022, first met Saufia in 2005 when he was playing college football at Missouri and they both worked at the same steakhouse. Four years later, they married and have since had three sons: Cayden, Niles and Titan.

Saufiya has supported Dan throughout his coaching career and he has supported her over the years, including when she was diagnosed with cancer in 2016.

In 2023, Dan paid tribute to his wife by getting her portrait tattooed on his chest. The ink also includes their sons’ names, the area code for Kansas City, Missouri, where they are both from, a boomerang for the Outback Steakhouse where they first met, and a yellow ribbon for Saufiya’s cancer.

He calls her his “rock”, but who is Dan Lanning’s wife? Here’s everything you need to know about Saufia Lanning and her relationship with her soccer coach.

Saufia grew up in Missouri.

Saufiya was born in Kansas City in 1987 and later attended North Kansas City High School. After graduating, she earned a bachelor’s degree in advertising and public relations from Northwest Missouri State University from 2005 to 2009. according to her LinkedIn profile.

While studying, Saufiya worked for KNWT TV, the university’s student television station, as well as for local magazines. She was also a resident assistant from 2007 to 2009.

Dan and Saufiya first met in 2005.

Dan and Saufiya met in 2005 at a steakhouse in Liberty, Missouri, while he was playing college football at William Jewell College and she was attending Northwest Missouri State University.

Dan said at a 2021 press conference: “I want to thank my wife Saufia, my rock. It’s hard for you to comprehend the sacrifices your family faces in the coaching world. And Saufiya was our head coach at home for so long and she wore so many hats.

“She has done so many important things for our family to show her support, and it’s crazy to think that our journey together began about 16 years ago at Outback Steakhouse. I was the waiter and she was the takeout girl. And the next thing you know, we’re sitting here in Oregon. But I love you, I admire your strength and I thank you,” he said.

Told by Dan’s childhood friend Logan Minnick Oregonian in 2022: “It was very clear that this was serious, when she came from Maryville, she would get there and we would not see Dan again until she left. It was then that we knew for sure that he was in love.”

Dan and Saufiya got married in 2009.

Saufiya married Dan on October 17, 2009 in Richmond, Missouri. The day before the wedding, the couple went to watch a high school football game rather than have a rehearsal dinner, according to Oregonian.

Dan celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary in 2021 with an Instagram post featuring two photos of the couple with their three children. In it, he called Saufiya his “beautiful wife.”

Saufiya has three children with Dan.

Dan and Saufiya have three sons: Kayden, Kneales and Titan.

The couple is often photographed with their children and celebrates Dan’s career together. Back in 2018, Saufiya and her sons surprised Dan by spending an extra day in Georgia with him.

“The wife and boys surprised me and stayed in Athens an extra day, so we’re digging into our favorite spot!” Dan wrote in the post.

Saufiya works in marketing

According to Saufiya’s LinkedIn profile, she has worked as a marketing coordinator at H&R Block since 2014. Her specialties include media planning, photography, marketing communications, marketing strategy and research, advertising campaigns and graphic design, she said.

She previously worked as an adjunct teacher in the Park Hill School District in Missouri from 2009 to 2010.

Dan supported Saufiya in her fight against cancer

Saufiya was diagnosed with osteosarcoma (a type of bone cancer) in 2016 and was last treated in 2017.

She said Commercial appeal“I’m not a ‘let’s come celebrate me’ type of person… I (wanted) everyone to be there and witness what their love, their blessings and all their prayers (had achieved). To me this means God’s love for us and what the power of prayer is, what everyone’s love can do for us. It’s just amazing.”

In October 2024, Dan, who supported her and put her career on hold, said Sports Illustrated about the impact of cancer on his wife.

“Each of us is truly ambitious, and sometimes we just don’t have the patience to realize how lucky we are to be exactly where we are. I have learned to truly enjoy my blessings,” he said. “Wherever I am, enjoying the experience and realizing that I can influence people, the people around me and the people who influence me, it’s been really rewarding.”

Saufiya contributed to Dan’s team uniform.

The Oregon Ducks wore uniforms designed by Saufiya and her children to symbolize various forms of cancer.

Dan told a press conference that Nike approached him and Saufiya about creating the uniform. “I know it was really important to my wife that this really pays tribute to all forms of cancer and the people that surround it,” he said.

Saufia has always supported Dan in his career.

Dan told ESPN College GameDay that his wife supported him early in his career when he acted “selfishly”, saying: “I was very, very selfish at the beginning of my career, and I think Saufiya knew my dreams and aspirations, but they were probably solely my dreams and aspirations and she was on board for me to pursue them.”

While Saufiya doesn’t have much of a social media presence and keeps her Instagram account private, she frequently posts about her husband on X (formerly Twitter) and shares Oregon Ducks posts.

In February 2024 she posted a photo of herself with Dan and their kids during a game night with the caption: “When I’m with you, I like me more. Grateful to be surrounded by love, always and forever.”