Women’s basketball

donnelly named coach of the year

Muhlenberg football coach Mike Donnelly was named Division III, Region 2 coach of the year by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA).

Donnelly will be honored, along with the regional winners in five divisions (Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III and NAIA) at the Coach of the Year dinner at the AFCA Convention in Anaheim, Calif., on Wednesday, January 9. The winners are selected by active members of the Association, who vote for coaches in their respective regions and divisions.

In his 11th season, Donnelly led the Mules to the best year in their Division III history. Coming off a 5-5 campaign and picked to finish fifth in the Centennial Conference preseason poll, Muhlenberg finished the regular season with a 10-0 record – the first undefeated regular season in the 106-year history of football at the College.

Donnelly’s Mules won their first outright Centennial Conference championship with an 8-0 record, becoming the first team to go through the CC slate undefeated since 2000. They were ranked ninth in the final AFCA poll of the regular season.

Muhlenberg added a 31-21 victory against Salisbury in the first round of the NCAA playoffs, setting a school record with its 11th win. One of the last five undefeated teams in Division III, the Mules lost to Wesley in the NCAA second round to end up 11-1.

Muhlenberg had 15 players named to the All-CC team, seven to the CC Academic Honor Roll and one to the Academic All-America second team. Donnelly served as coordinator of a defense that ranks in the top 10 in Division III in five categories.

The first coach in school history to earn the AFCA regional honor, Donnelly is Muhlenberg’s winningest all-time football coach with a career record of 72-45.
Click here for the AFCA release.