Five Outstanding Coaches Earn 2021 Spring AFCA FCS Regional Coach of the Year
April 21, 2021
The AFCA is excited to announce the 2021 Spring AFCA FCS Regional Coach of the Year winners. 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 2021 Spring AFCA FCS Regional Coach of the Year winners are:
Region 1: Danny Rocco, Delaware
Region 2: Scott Wachenheim, VMI
Region 3: Dean Hood, Murray State
Region 4: Matt Entz, North Dakota State
Region 5: Jay Hill, Weber State
Danny Rocco earned his first regional honor by guiding Delaware to a 5-0 regular season record and the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) North Division title. The Blue Hens will host Sacred Heart in the first round of the FCS playoffs, which is their first home playoff game since 2010. Rocco is in his fourth season as head coach at Delaware and has 24 wins and two playoff appearances. In his 15 years as a head coach, he has an overall record of 114-58 at Liberty, Richmond and Delaware. He won four Big South Conference titles at Liberty and two CAA championships at Richmond.
VMI’s Scott Wachenheim is another first-time regional winner. He led the Keydets to a 6-1 record, the program’s first Southern Conference title since 1977 and the program’s first-ever playoff appearance. VMI will travel to No. 1 James Madison in the first round of the playoffs. Wachenheim spent nearly 30 years as an assistant coach at Arkansas, Colorado, Rice and Virginia, to name a few, before he landed his first head coaching position at VMI in 2015.
Dean Hood earned his second regional honor by guiding Murray State to its first winning season since 2011 and best Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) record since 2005. The Racers finished the spring season at 5-2, winning their first five games for the first time since 1995. Hood earned his other regional honor at Eastern Kentucky in 2011 by leading the Colonels to a 7-5 record, the OVC title and an appearance in the FCS playoffs. He has an overall record of 60-40 in his nine years as a head coach.
Matt Entz earned his second straight AFCA Regional honor by leading North Dakota State to a 6-2 record and the program’s 11th straight playoff appearance. In his second season as head coach, Entz has an overall record of 22-2. In his first season, Entz earned AFCA Regional and National Coach of the Year honors by leading NDSU to a 16-0 record, the Missouri Valley Football Conference title and the FCS National Championship. He helped the Bison win four national championships as the defensive coordinator from 2014-2018.
Weber State’s Jay Hill also earned his second straight regional honor. He guided the Wildcats to a 5-0 record, the program’s fourth straight Big Sky Conference title and a fifth straight FCS playoff appearance. Hill has been the head coach for seven seasons and has an overall record of 52-30. He led Weber State to a 11-4 record and the semifinals of the FCS playoffs in 2019 to earn his first regional honor.
RELATED CONTENT: Steve Ryan Headlines 2021 Spring AFCA NAIA Regional Coach of the Year Winners
AFCA FCS National Coach of the Year: The AFCA will announce the 2021 Spring AFCA FCS National Coach of the Year during the week leading up to the FCS National Championship. The Regional winners are finalists for National Coach of the Year.
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. The number of divisions was also 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: North Dakota State’s Matt Entz and Weber State’s Jay Hill are the only repeat winners from 2019.
Most Awards: Mount Union’s Larry Kehres (1986, 1990, 1992-93, 1996-97, 1999-02, 2006-12) has the most district/regional honors in AFCA history, with 17. Penn State’s Joe Paterno (District 2: 1967-68, 1971-73, 1977-78, 1982; Region 1: 1985; Region 3: 1994, 2005) is second with 11 District/Regional Coach of the Year honors. Tied for third is Bloomsburg’s Danny Hale, Mary Hardin-Baylor’s Pete Fredenburg and Morningside’s Steve Ryan, each with 10 awards. Hale won his first three honors at West Chester and the rest at Bloomsburg (College Division I, Region 1 1986-88, 1994-95; Division II, Region 1, 2000-01, 2005-06, 2008). Fredenburg won his 10 in 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012-14, 2016 and 2018. Ryan won his 10 in 2005, 2011, 2012 and 2014-21. Seven coaches have won the award seven times: Tubby Raymond, Delaware; Jim Butterfield, Ithaca; Bo Schembechler, Miami (Ohio), Michigan; Bob Devaney, Nebraska; Tom Osborne, Nebraska; Mel Tjeerdsma, Northwest Missouri State; and Carmen Cozza, Yale. Eight coaches have won Regional honors six times: Vince Dooley, Georgia; Brian Kelly, Grand Valley State, Cincinnati, Notre Dame; Roy Kidd, Eastern Kentucky; John McKay, USC; Jerry Moore, Appalachian State; Darrell Royal, Texas; Mike Van Diest, Carroll (Mont.) and Chris Oliver, Lindsey Wilson.
Most Winners by School: Mount Union-18 (Ken Wable-1, Larry Kehres-17); Nebraska-15 (Bob Devaney-7, Tom Osborne-7, Frank Solich-1); North Dakota State-15 (Darrell Mudra-1, Ron Erhardt-4, Jim Wacker-1, Don Morton-3, Earle Solomonson-1, Craig Bohl-2, Klieman-1, Entz-2); Penn State-12 (Rip Engle-1, Joe Paterno-11); Alabama-11 (Bear Bryant-4, Bill Curry-1, Gene Stallings-2, Mike Shula-1, Nick Saban-3); Texas-11 (Darrell Royal-6, Fred Akers-2, David McWilliams-1, Mack Brown-2); Mary Hardin-Baylor-10 (Pete Fredenburg-10); Morningside-10 (Steve Ryan-10); 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); Bloomsburg-9 (George Landis-1, Danny Hale-7, Paul Darragh-1); Ithaca-9 (Jim Butterfield-7, Mike Welch-2); Michigan-9 (Bump Elliott-2, Bo Schembechler-6, Lloyd Carr-1); New Hampshire-9 (Clarence Boston-1, Jim Root-1, Bill Bowes-3, Sean McDonnell-4); Arkansas-8 (Frank Broyles-4, Lou Holtz-1, Ken Hatfield-1, Houston Nutt-2); Dartmouth-8 (Bob Blackman-4, Jake Crouthamel-1, Joe Yukica-1, Buddy Teveens-2); Delaware-8 (Tubby Raymond-7, Danny Rocco-1); Georgia-8 (Vince Dooley-6, Mark Richt-1, Kirby Smart-1); Lenoir-Rhyne-8 (Clarence Stasavich-2, Hanley Painter-2, John Perry-1, Charles Forbes-1, Drew Cronic-2); Northwest Missouri State-8 (Mel Tjeerdsma-7, Adam Dorrel-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).
Consecutive Years: Morningside’s Steve Ryan joins Mount Union’s Larry Kehres as the only coaches to win district/regional honors in seven consecutive years. Kehres won his in Division III from 2006-12 while Ryan won his in NAIA from 2014-21. Jacksonville State’s John Grass, 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). Grass earned his five straight in FCS from 2014-18. Carroll’s Mike Van Diest, Trinity’s (Texas) Steve Mohr, North Dakota State’s Ron Erhardt and Kehres are the only men to win the award four years in a row. Van Diest earned the honor in NAIA from 2007-10, while Kehres won his four in a row from 1999-2002 in Division III. 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). Fifteen 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.
About AFCA
The AFCA was founded in 1922 and currently has more than 10,000 members around the world ranging from the high school level to the professional ranks. According to its constitution, the AFCA was formed, in part, to “maintain the highest possible standards in football and in the coaching profession” and to “provide a forum for the discussion and study of all matters pertaining to football.”
For more information about the AFCA, visit www.AFCA.com. For more interesting articles, check out The Insider and subscribe to our weekly email.
If you are interested in more in-depth articles and videos, please become an AFCA member. You can find out more information about membership and specific member benefits on the AFCA Membership Overview page. If you are ready to join, please fill out the AFCA Membership Application.
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The AFCA is excited to announce the 2021 Spring AFCA FCS Regional Coach of the Year winners. 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 2021 Spring AFCA FCS Regional Coach of the Year winners are:
Region 1: Danny Rocco, Delaware
Region 2: Scott Wachenheim, VMI
Region 3: Dean Hood, Murray State
Region 4: Matt Entz, North Dakota State
Region 5: Jay Hill, Weber State
Danny Rocco earned his first regional honor by guiding Delaware to a 5-0 regular season record and the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) North Division title. The Blue Hens will host Sacred Heart in the first round of the FCS playoffs, which is their first home playoff game since 2010. Rocco is in his fourth season as head coach at Delaware and has 24 wins and two playoff appearances. In his 15 years as a head coach, he has an overall record of 114-58 at Liberty, Richmond and Delaware. He won four Big South Conference titles at Liberty and two CAA championships at Richmond.
VMI’s Scott Wachenheim is another first-time regional winner. He led the Keydets to a 6-1 record, the program’s first Southern Conference title since 1977 and the program’s first-ever playoff appearance. VMI will travel to No. 1 James Madison in the first round of the playoffs. Wachenheim spent nearly 30 years as an assistant coach at Arkansas, Colorado, Rice and Virginia, to name a few, before he landed his first head coaching position at VMI in 2015.
Dean Hood earned his second regional honor by guiding Murray State to its first winning season since 2011 and best Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) record since 2005. The Racers finished the spring season at 5-2, winning their first five games for the first time since 1995. Hood earned his other regional honor at Eastern Kentucky in 2011 by leading the Colonels to a 7-5 record, the OVC title and an appearance in the FCS playoffs. He has an overall record of 60-40 in his nine years as a head coach.
Matt Entz earned his second straight AFCA Regional honor by leading North Dakota State to a 6-2 record and the program’s 11th straight playoff appearance. In his second season as head coach, Entz has an overall record of 22-2. In his first season, Entz earned AFCA Regional and National Coach of the Year honors by leading NDSU to a 16-0 record, the Missouri Valley Football Conference title and the FCS National Championship. He helped the Bison win four national championships as the defensive coordinator from 2014-2018.
Weber State’s Jay Hill also earned his second straight regional honor. He guided the Wildcats to a 5-0 record, the program’s fourth straight Big Sky Conference title and a fifth straight FCS playoff appearance. Hill has been the head coach for seven seasons and has an overall record of 52-30. He led Weber State to a 11-4 record and the semifinals of the FCS playoffs in 2019 to earn his first regional honor.
RELATED CONTENT: Steve Ryan Headlines 2021 Spring AFCA NAIA Regional Coach of the Year Winners
AFCA FCS National Coach of the Year: The AFCA will announce the 2021 Spring AFCA FCS National Coach of the Year during the week leading up to the FCS National Championship. The Regional winners are finalists for National Coach of the Year.
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. The number of divisions was also 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: North Dakota State’s Matt Entz and Weber State’s Jay Hill are the only repeat winners from 2019.
Most Awards: Mount Union’s Larry Kehres (1986, 1990, 1992-93, 1996-97, 1999-02, 2006-12) has the most district/regional honors in AFCA history, with 17. Penn State’s Joe Paterno (District 2: 1967-68, 1971-73, 1977-78, 1982; Region 1: 1985; Region 3: 1994, 2005) is second with 11 District/Regional Coach of the Year honors. Tied for third is Bloomsburg’s Danny Hale, Mary Hardin-Baylor’s Pete Fredenburg and Morningside’s Steve Ryan, each with 10 awards. Hale won his first three honors at West Chester and the rest at Bloomsburg (College Division I, Region 1 1986-88, 1994-95; Division II, Region 1, 2000-01, 2005-06, 2008). Fredenburg won his 10 in 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012-14, 2016 and 2018. Ryan won his 10 in 2005, 2011, 2012 and 2014-21. Seven coaches have won the award seven times: Tubby Raymond, Delaware; Jim Butterfield, Ithaca; Bo Schembechler, Miami (Ohio), Michigan; Bob Devaney, Nebraska; Tom Osborne, Nebraska; Mel Tjeerdsma, Northwest Missouri State; and Carmen Cozza, Yale. Eight coaches have won Regional honors six times: Vince Dooley, Georgia; Brian Kelly, Grand Valley State, Cincinnati, Notre Dame; Roy Kidd, Eastern Kentucky; John McKay, USC; Jerry Moore, Appalachian State; Darrell Royal, Texas; Mike Van Diest, Carroll (Mont.) and Chris Oliver, Lindsey Wilson.
Most Winners by School: Mount Union-18 (Ken Wable-1, Larry Kehres-17); Nebraska-15 (Bob Devaney-7, Tom Osborne-7, Frank Solich-1); North Dakota State-15 (Darrell Mudra-1, Ron Erhardt-4, Jim Wacker-1, Don Morton-3, Earle Solomonson-1, Craig Bohl-2, Klieman-1, Entz-2); Penn State-12 (Rip Engle-1, Joe Paterno-11); Alabama-11 (Bear Bryant-4, Bill Curry-1, Gene Stallings-2, Mike Shula-1, Nick Saban-3); Texas-11 (Darrell Royal-6, Fred Akers-2, David McWilliams-1, Mack Brown-2); Mary Hardin-Baylor-10 (Pete Fredenburg-10); Morningside-10 (Steve Ryan-10); 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); Bloomsburg-9 (George Landis-1, Danny Hale-7, Paul Darragh-1); Ithaca-9 (Jim Butterfield-7, Mike Welch-2); Michigan-9 (Bump Elliott-2, Bo Schembechler-6, Lloyd Carr-1); New Hampshire-9 (Clarence Boston-1, Jim Root-1, Bill Bowes-3, Sean McDonnell-4); Arkansas-8 (Frank Broyles-4, Lou Holtz-1, Ken Hatfield-1, Houston Nutt-2); Dartmouth-8 (Bob Blackman-4, Jake Crouthamel-1, Joe Yukica-1, Buddy Teveens-2); Delaware-8 (Tubby Raymond-7, Danny Rocco-1); Georgia-8 (Vince Dooley-6, Mark Richt-1, Kirby Smart-1); Lenoir-Rhyne-8 (Clarence Stasavich-2, Hanley Painter-2, John Perry-1, Charles Forbes-1, Drew Cronic-2); Northwest Missouri State-8 (Mel Tjeerdsma-7, Adam Dorrel-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).
Consecutive Years: Morningside’s Steve Ryan joins Mount Union’s Larry Kehres as the only coaches to win district/regional honors in seven consecutive years. Kehres won his in Division III from 2006-12 while Ryan won his in NAIA from 2014-21. Jacksonville State’s John Grass, 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). Grass earned his five straight in FCS from 2014-18. Carroll’s Mike Van Diest, Trinity’s (Texas) Steve Mohr, North Dakota State’s Ron Erhardt and Kehres are the only men to win the award four years in a row. Van Diest earned the honor in NAIA from 2007-10, while Kehres won his four in a row from 1999-2002 in Division III. 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). Fifteen 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.
About AFCA
The AFCA was founded in 1922 and currently has more than 10,000 members around the world ranging from the high school level to the professional ranks. According to its constitution, the AFCA was formed, in part, to “maintain the highest possible standards in football and in the coaching profession” and to “provide a forum for the discussion and study of all matters pertaining to football.”
For more information about the AFCA, visit www.AFCA.com. For more interesting articles, check out The Insider and subscribe to our weekly email.
If you are interested in more in-depth articles and videos, please become an AFCA member. You can find out more information about membership and specific member benefits on the AFCA Membership Overview page. If you are ready to join, please fill out the AFCA Membership Application.
