Release courtesy of Vince Thompson, AFCA Director of Media Relations
WACO, TEX. — First-time winners Les Miles of LSU and Ron Roberts of Delta State highlight today’s announcement of the American Football Coaches Association’s 2011 Regional Coach of the Year winners.
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The AFCA recognizes five regional Coach of the Year winners in
each of the Association’s five divisions: Football Bowl
Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II,
Division III and NAIA. The winners are selected by Active members
of the Association who vote for coaches in their respective regions
and divisions.
The 2011 Regional Coach of the Year winners will be recognized at
the AFCA Coach of the Year Dinner at the 2012 AFCA Convention in
San Antonio, Texas. The dinner is scheduled for Tuesday, January
10.
In his seventh year as head coach, Miles has guided LSU to a
13-0 record, the Southeastern Conference title, a No. 1 ranking
in the BCS standings and a spot in the BCS National Championship
game. Miles is looking to guide LSU to its third BCS National
Championship in 2011. Roberts earned his first Regional Coach of
the Year Award by leading Delta State to a 11-2 record, the Gulf
South Conference title and an appearance in the NCAA Division II
semifinals. Roberts is looking to lead Delta State to its second
national title after finishing as runner-up in 2010.
2011 AFCA Division II Regional Coach of the Year Winners |
||
Region 1: |
Raymond Monica |
Kutztown University* |
Region 2: |
Ron Roberts |
Delta State University |
Region 3: |
Keith Otterbein |
Hillsdale College |
Region 4: |
Bill Maskill |
Midwestern State University |
Region 5: |
John Wristen |
Colorado State University-Pueblo |
*-2010 winner
Award History: The AFCA began recognizing
district coaches of the year following the 1960 season. The awards
were established the same year Eastman Kodak agreed to sponsor the
AFCA Coach of the Year award. Prior to 1960, the Scripps-Howard
newspaper chain had sponsored the program, which recognized one
national Coach of the Year.
The AFCA first recognized eight district winners in each of two
divisions: university and college. In 1972, a ninth district was
added in each division. In 1983, the award was changed to recognize
regional winners instead of district winners, and the number of
divisions was increased from two to four, and five regional winners
were selected in each division. This resulted in a more equitable
selection process and better represented the make-up of the
membership. At the same time, the new system increased the number
of honorees from 18 to 20.
In 2006, the AFCA Division II Award was split into separate
Division II and NAIA divisions, giving us the 25 winners we now
recognize.
Repeat Winners: Kutztown’s Raymond
Monica, Mount Union’s Larry Kehres and MidAmerica
Nazarene’s Jonathan Quinn are the repeat winners from 2010.
Kehres extends his record District/Regional total to 16.
Multiple Winners: Other multiple winners in the
2011 class are Keith Otterbein (fourth), Steve
Mohr (fifth), Steve Ryan (second) and Mike Cochran (second). First
Time Winners: Twenty coaches earned their first AFCA Regional Coach
of the Year Award in 2011: Clemson’s Dabo Swinney,
LSU’s Les Miles, Houston’s Kevin Sumlin, Oklahoma
State’s Mike Gundy, Stanford’s David Shaw,
Towson’s Rob Ambrose, Georgia Southern’ Jeff Monken,
Eastern Kentucky’s Dean Hood, North Dakota State’s
Craig Bohl, Sam Houston State’s Willie Fritz, Delta
State’s Ron Roberts, Midwestern State’s Bill Maskill,
Colorado State-Pueblo’s John Wristen, Salisbury’s
Sherman Wood, Johns Hopkins’ Jim Margraff, Dubuque’s
Stan Zweifel, Georgetown’s Bill Cronin, Lindsey
Wilson’s Chris Oliver, Marian’s Ted Karras, Jr., and
Doane’s Matt Franzen.
Most Awards: Mount Union’s Larry Kehres
(1986-90-92-93-96-97-99-2000-01-02-06-07-08-09-10-11) has the most
district/regional honors in AFCA history, extending his record to
16 awards this year. Penn State’s Joe Paterno (District 2:
1967-68-71-72-73-77-78-82; Region 1: 1985; Region 3: 1994-2005) is
second with 11 District/Regional Coach of the Year honors.
Following Kehres and Paterno is Bloomsburg’s Danny Hale with
10 awards (College Division I, Region 1 1986-87-88-94-95; Division
II, Region 1, 2000-01-05-06-08). Hale won his first three awards
while at West Chester. Seven coaches have won the award seven
times: Mel Tjeerdsma, Northwest Missouri State, Jim Butterfield,
Ithaca; Carmen Cozza, Yale; Bob Devaney and Tom Osborne, Nebraska;
Tubby Raymond, Delaware and Bo Schembechler, Miami (Ohio),
Michigan. Trinity’s (Texas) Steve Mohr takes home his fifth
Regional honor in 2011.
Most Winners by School: Mount Union-17 (Ken
Wable-1, Larry Kehres-16); Nebraska-15 (Bob Devaney-7, Tom
Osborne-7, Frank Solich-1); Penn State-12 (Rip Engle-1, Joe
Paterno-11); North Dakota State-11 (Darrell Mudra-1, Ron Erhardt-4,
Jim Wacker-1, Don Morton-3, Earle Solomonson-1, Craig Bohl-1);
Texas-11 (Darrell Royal-6, Fred Akers-2, David McWilliams-
1, Mack Brown-2); USC-10 (John McKay-6, John Robinson-2, Pete
Carroll-2); Wittenberg-10 (Bill Edwards-3, Dave Maurer-4, Ron
Murphy-1, Joe Fincham-2); Alabama-9 (Bear Bryant-4, Bill Curry-1,
Gene Stallings-2, Mike Shula-1, Nick Saban-1); Michigan-9 (Bump
Elliott-2, Bo Schembechler-6, Lloyd Carr-1); Arkansas-8 (Frank
Broyles-4, Lou Holtz-1, Ken Hatfield-1, Houston Nutt-2); Ithaca-8
(Jim Butterfield-7, Mike Welch-1); Ohio State-8 (Woody Hayes-4,
Earle Bruce-1, John Cooper-3); Oklahoma-8 (Chuck Fairbanks-3, Barry
Switzer-2, Bob Stoops-3); Texas A&M-Kingsville-8 (Gil
Steinke-2, Ron Harms-5, Bo Atterberry-1); Yale-8 (Jordan Olivar-1,
Carmen Cozza-7).
Two Years, Two Schools: Five coaches have earned
AFCA Regional Coach of the Year honors at two schools in
consecutive years: Fred Akers: Wyoming, 1976 & Texas 1977; Dick
Sheridan: Furman, 1985 & North Carolina State, 1986; Dennis
Franchione: Pittsburg State, 1989 & Texas State, 1990; Joe
Tiller: Wyoming, 1996 & Purdue, 1997; Hal Mumme: Valdosta
State, 1996 & Kentucky, 1997.
Most Schools: South Carolina’s Lou Holtz is
the only coach to earn AFCA Regional Coach of the Year honors at
four different
schools. Holtz has earned the honor at North Carolina State
(1972), Arkansas (1979), Notre Dame (1988) and South Carolina
(2000). Houston Nutt (Mississippi, Arkansas, Murray State) became
the sixth coach to win district or regional honors at three
different schools in 2008. He joins Mike Price (UTEP, Washington
State, Weber State), Jerry Claiborne (Virginia Tech, Maryland,
Kentucky), Darrell Mudra (North Dakota State, Western Illinois,
Northern Iowa), Jim Sweeney (Montana State, Washington State and
Fresno State) and Jim Wacker (North Dakota State, Texas State, TCU)
on that list.
Consecutive Years: Mount Union’s Larry
Kehres is the only coach to win district/regional honors in six
consecutive years, winning in Division III from 2006-11. Northwest
Missouri State’s Mel Tjeerdsma and Nebraska’s Bob
Devaney are the only coaches to win district/ regional honors in
five consecutive years. Tjeerdsma earned the honor in Division II
from 1996-2000. Devaney earned the honor in the AFCA’s old
University Division (1962-66). Carroll’s Mike Van Diest joins
Trinity’s (Texas) Steve Mohr, North Dakota State’s Ron
Erhardt and Kehres as the only men to win the award four years in a
row. Van Diest earned the honor in NAIA from 2007-10. Erhardt
earned district honors in the AFCA’s old College Division
(1967-68-69-70) while Mohr earned the honor in Division III
(1996-97-98-99). Kehres is the only coach to ever win Regional
Coach of the Year honors for four years in a row (1999-2002), and
six years in a row (2006-11), on two different occasions.
Thirteen coaches have earned district or regional honors three
years in a row. Ithaca’s Jim Butterfield (1978-79-80 and
1984-85-86) earned the award in three consecutive years on two
different occasions. AFCA National
Coach of the Year: The AFCA will announce its
five 2011 National Coach of the Year winners at the 2011 AFCA
Convention in San Antonio, Texas. All head coaches who were
eligible for regional honors are eligible for national honors as
well.
For more information on the AFCA and its programs, log on to the
AFCA’s website at www.afca.com.