Mount Union's Larry Kehres Named AFCA Regional Coach of the Year For Record 16th Time
WACO, Texas -- University of Mount Union football coach Larry Kehres has been named American Football Coaches Association Regional Coach of the Year for a record sixth-straight season and record 16th time overall.
A 1971 graduate of Mount Union, Kehres is 316-23-3 (.928) in his 26th season at his Alma mater. Kehres is one of the most successful coaches in all of college football, as under his tenure, the Purple Raiders have claimed 22 Ohio Athletic Conference championships, including the last 20 in a row and 10 of the last 18 NCAA Division III National Championships.
He is one of only 11 coaches in the history of college football to win over 300 games.
His 16 regional coach of the year awards places him five ahead of Penn State's Joe Paterno (11). This is also is a record sixth-straight season he has won the award besting the previous record of five held by Mel Tjeerdsma (Northwest Missouri State) and Bob Devaney (Nebraska).
It is also the record 17th honor for Mount Union (Ken Wable won the award in 1985) which places the school ahead of the 15 by Nebraska (Bob Devaney-7, Tom Osborne-7, Frank Solich-1).
Sherman Wood (Salisbury, Md.), Jim Margraff (Johns Hopkins, Md.), Steve Mohr (Trinity, Texas) and Stan Zweifel (Dubuque, Iowa) were the other regional winners.
The winners are selected by active members of the AFCA who vote for coaches in their respective regions and divisions. Five winners in each division of football (FBS, FCS, NCAA Division II and III along with the NAIA) will be honored and a National Coach of the Year in each division will be named at the AFCA Convention this coming January.
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).
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.
