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

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

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

In 2023, Dan paid tribute to his wife with a tattoo of her portrait on his rib cage. The ink also includes their sons’ names, the area code of the greater Kansas City area in Missouri they’re both from, a boomerang for the Outback Steakhouse where they first met and a yellow ribbon for Sauphia’s cancer.

He calls her his “rock,” but who is Dan Lanning’s wife? Here’s everything to know about Sauphia Lanning and her relationship with the football coach.

Sauphia grew up in Missouri

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

While studying, Sauphia was involved with KNWT TV, the student-run TV station at the university, as well as local magazines. She was also a resident assistant from 2007 to 2009.

Dan and Sauphia first met in 2005

Dan and Sauphia met in 2005 at a steakhouse in Liberty, Mo., when he was playing college football at William Jewell College and she was studying at Northwest Missouri State University.

Dan said at a press conference in 2021, “I want to thank my wife Sauphia, my rock. It’s hard for you to realize the sacrifices that your family deal with in the coaching world. And Sauphia has been our head coach at home for so long, and she’s worn so many hats.

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

Dan’s childhood friend Logan Minnick told The Oregonian in 2022, “It was pretty clear that was serious when she would come down from Maryville, she would get there and we would not see Dan again until she left. That’s when we knew he was in love for sure.”

Dan and Sauphia got married in 2009

Sauphia married Dan on Oct. 17, 2009, in Richmond, Mo. The day before their nuptials, the couple went to watch a school football game rather than hold a rehearsal dinner, per The Oregonian.

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

Sauphia has three children with Dan

Dan and Sauphia have three sons together: Caden, Kniles and Titan.

The couple often takes photos with their children and celebrate Dan’s career together. Back in 2018, Sauphia and her sons surprised Dan by spending an extra day in Georgia with him.

“Wife and Boys surprised me and stuck around Athens an extra day so we are grubbin’ at our favorite place!” Dan wrote in a post.

Sauphia works in marketing

According to Sauphia’s LinkedIn profile, she’s worked as a marketing coordinator at H&R Block since 2014. She says that her specialties include media planning, photography, marketing communications, marketing strategy and research, advertising campaigns and graphic design.

Previously, from 2009 to 2010, she worked as an associate teacher at the Park Hill School District in Missouri.

Dan supported Sauphia through cancer

Sauphia was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer, in 2016, and had her last treatment in 2017.

She told The Commercial Appeal, “I’m not a big ‘let’s come celebrate me’ type of person … I [wanted] everybody to be there and come witness what their love and their blessings and all their prayers [had achieved]. For me it signifies God’s love for us and what the power of prayer is, what everybody’s love can do for us. It’s just amazing.”

In October 2024, Dan, who supported her and put his career aside, told Sports Illustrated about the impact of his wife’s cancer had.

“Every one of us is really ambitious, and sometimes we just aren’t patient enough to realize how blessed we are to be exactly where we’re at. I’ve learned to really enjoy my blessings,” he said. “Wherever I’m at, enjoy the experience and understand I can impact people the people that I’m around and the people that impact me it’s been really rewarding.”

Sauphia contributed to Dan’s team uniform

The Oregon Ducks have worn uniforms designed by Sauphia and her children, which represent different forms of cancer.

Dan said in a news conference that Nike approached him and Sauphia about creating the uniform. “I know it was really important to my wife that it was something that really honored all forms of cancer and the people who are surrounded by it,” he said.

Sauphia has always supported Dan in his career

Dan told ESPN’s College GameDay that his wife supported him earlier in his career when he was “selfish”, saying, “I was really, really selfish early in my career, and I think Sauphia knew my dreams and aspirations, but they were probably strictly my dreams and aspirations, and she was like so on board for me to chase them.”

While Sauphia doesn’t have a large social media presence, and keeps her Instagram account private, she often posts about her husband on X (formerly Twitter) and reshares posts from the Oregon Ducks.

In February 2024, she posted a photo of herself with Dan and their children on a game night with the caption, “I like me better when I’m with you. Grateful to be surrounded by love, always and forever.”