Illinois Wesleyan's
Norm Eash has been chosen as the co-winner of the Division III Region 4 "Regional Coach of the Year" honor by the American Football Coaches Association, announced on Dec. 2.
Eash, who won the award for the first time, shared the honor with Mount Union's Larry Kehres, who earned his 14th AFCA "Regional Coach of the Year" award.
The 2009 Titans were 10-2 overall, won the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin championship with a 6-1 record and earned the league's automatic qualification into the NCAA Division III playoffs. IWU defeated Wabash, 41-35 in two overtimes in round one of the playoffs before losing to Wisconsin-Whitewater, 45-7 on Nov. 28.
A 1975 Illinois Wesleyan graduate, Eash was named the CCIW "Coach of the Year" for the fifth time and has a 23-year career record of 142-79-1 (.642 winning percentage). His CCIW record is 104-61-1 (.629 winning percentage).
The AFCA recognizes five regional Coach of the Year winners in each of five divisions: Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
The winners are selected by AFCA active members who vote for coaches in their respective regions and divisions.
The 2009 Regional Coach of the Year winners will be recognized at the AFCA Coach of the Year Dinner on January 12 at the 2010 AFCA Convention in Orlando, Fla.
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.