2023-2024 Division III Coaching Changes
/Updated: 08/26/2024
Team
Adrian (MI):
2023 Coach: Jim Deere
2024 Coach: Joe Palka
Notes:
Belhaven (MS):
2023 Coach: Blaine McCorkle
2024 Coach: CJ Nightingale
Notes: McCorkle stepped down to become the head coach for Northwestern State (LA). Across six seasons under McCorkle the Blazers went 31-25 and he departs as the program's winningest head coach in its 26 seasons. Belhaven is coming off the most successful season in program history winning a record nine games and taking home the USA South title, the first outright conference championship in program history. Nightingale arrives at Belhaven after spending four seasons as the Defensive Coordinator and Defensive Backs Coach at Wheaton College.
Bethel (MN):
2023 Coach: Steve Johnson
2024 Coach: Mike McElroy
Notes:
Carthage (WI):
2023 Coach: Dustin Hass
2024 Coach: Matt Popino
Notes: Hass stepped down as head coach on 11/14 after six seasons. The Firebirds finished the 2023 season 3-7 after winning two of their last three games. Hass, who worked his way up from the special teams coordinator, went 19-33 during his tenure as head coach. The Firebirds have hired Endicott’s assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Matt Popino as their new head coach.
Castleton (VT):
2023 Coach: Tony Volpone
2024 Coach: Tyler Higley
Notes: After ten years of being the head coach of the Spartans, Tony Volpone has stepped down to spend time with his family. Volpone leaves Castleton as the all-time leader in wins with 41. Tyler Higley, Volpone’s defensive coordinator and Spartan alum, who was originally named the interim head coach for the upcoming season has now had that label removed after only a month.
University of Chicago:
2023 Coach: Todd Gilcrist
2024 Coach: Max Andrews (interim)
Notes: After just two years and a record of 13-7, Gilcrist is out as the head coach of the Maroons. Andrews, the offensive line coach, has been promoted for the year in hopes of maintaining some team continuity. He has his work cut out for him because currently he has only two assistant coaches – out of eight that started the year in 2023.
Concordia Chicago (IL):
2023 Coach: Andy Lambert
2024 Coach: Chase Hankins
Notes: Not sure if Lambert resigned or was let go, as there is no mention of it on the school’s website. The Cougars just wrapped up a 1-9 season, and Lambert had a 7-23 (4-20 conference record) in three seasons at the school. Hankins was given the interim head coaching job soon after the season was over, but had the interim tag removed in early February. Chase came to Concordia in 2022 as the offensive coordinator – a role he served in for the last two seasons.
Delaware Valley (PA):
2023 Coach: Charles Greco
2024 Coach: Mike Isgro
Notes:
Dubuque (IA):
2023 Coach: Stan Zweifel
2024 Coach: Ryan Maiuri
Notes: Zweifel, who has coached Dubuque for the last 15 years, is expected to step down – though as of 11/14 there has been no official announcement. If he does leave the position, Zweifel will have had an 86-57 record with the Spartans, as well as two conference (Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) championships. Maiuri has served as the offensive coordinator at Central College since 2015, and this will be his first head coaching job.
Eureka (IL):
2023 Coach: Kurt Barth
2024 Coach: Randy Starks
Notes: After 15 seasons as the Red Devils head coach, Barth has stepped down as the head football coach at Eureka College. He went 70-77 during that time, and leaves as the winningest coach in Eureka College football history. Starks, who was drafted in the third round in 2004 NFL Draft out of Maryland, was most recently a defensive line coach at Loughborough College.
Ferrum College (VA):
2023 Coach: Clevie Adams
2024 Coach: Kevin Sherman
Notes:
Hampden-Sydney (VA):
2023 Coach: Marty Favret
2024 Coach: Vince Luvara
Notes: After his 24th season as the head coach at Hampden-Sydney, Marty Favret is retiring as announced back in August. Favret is the all-time winningest football coach in school history with 151 victories (151-90), and he led the Tigers to 16 winning seasons (ten seasons with at least eight wins) in his 24 years. Favret teams also won five ODAC championships and made six Division III playoff appearances.
Johns Hopkins (MD):
2023 Coach: Greg Chimera
2024 Coach: Dan Wodicka
Notes: Chimera stepped down as Johns Hopkins head football coach to become the offensive coordinator at Penn. In four seasons over five years—the 2020 season was canceled due to the COVID pandemic—Chimera led the Blue Jays to a 40-7 record, two Centennial Conference titles, and two berths in the NCAA DIII playoffs. His 40 victories rank third in Johns Hopkins history, while his .851 winning percentage is by far the highest in program history.
King’s (PA):
2023 Coach: Skyler Fultz
2024 Coach: Mike Cebrosky
Notes:
McDaniel (MD):
2023 Coach: David Sartin (Interim)
2024 Coach: Skyler Fultz
Notes: McDaniel is searching for a new head coach after interim head coach (David Sartin) went 0-10 during the 2023 season.
Millsaps (MS):
2023 Coach: Cory York (interim)
2024 Coach: Brandon Lechtenberg
Notes: In late April, Isaac Carter resigned as head coach of the Majors to become the defensive coordinator at San Diego (FCS). At the time assistant head coach and offensive line coach Cory York was named the interim head coach of the program, but after a 1-9 season he was not retained in that position. On January 24th Brandon Lechtenberg was named the new head coach after spending the last two seasons as the defensive coordinator at Central Oklahoma (Div. II).
Misericordia (PA):
2023 Coach: John Davis
2024 Coach: Tyler Cottle (interim)
Notes: John Davis has resigned as head coach here for personal reasons. Davis was just the second head coach in the history of MU’s football program, and the Cougars were 10-19 in his three seasons. Tyler Cottle has been named interim head football coach. Cottle has spent the last three years as the defensive coordinator for the Cougars.
Nichols (MA):
2023 Coach: Dale Olmsted
2024 Coach: Vinny Marino
Notes: Before the Bison’s last game against Husson, Olmsted announced that he was stepping down after the season. His most successful season was in 2016 when the Bison posted a 6-4 record and won its final four games, all against New England Football Conference (NEFC) foes.
Norwich (VT):
2023 Coach: Mark Murnyack
2024 Coach: Bill Russell
Notes:
Ohio Northern:
2023 Coach: Dean Paul
2024 Coach: Andy Fries
Notes: After 24 years as a head coach (Thomas More and Ohio Northern), Dean Paul has stepped down as the coach of the Polar Bears to focus on a family member’s health issue. Paul had a 121-77 record at Ohio Northern, and a overall record of 161-89, which had made him one of the winningest coaches in Division III going into the 2023 season. He never won a conference championship, but his teams made the Division III playoffs three times – advancing to the second round each time. Andy Fries (pronounced as Freeze), who is just the fourth coach in almost forty years, has served as the offensive coordinator at Rose-Hulman the last four years.
Otterbein (OH):
2023 Coach: Tommy Zagorski
2024 Coach: Jake Schaefer (interim)
Notes: For health reasons, Zagorski decided to step down as the Cardinals’ head coach after one season at the helm as of the middle of July. Unfortunately, Otterbein went 0-10, with only one game being a one score result. Jake Schaefer, a former quarterback at John Carroll and offensive coordinator here at Otterbein, will run the team in 2024 on an interim basis.
Rowan (NJ):
2023 Coach: Jay Accorsi
2024 Coach: Pat Ruley
Notes: Jay Accorsi announced his retirement (mid-April) after 22 seasons as the head football coach of the Profs. He leaves as the program’s all-time leader in victories with a record of 143-78, and seven NJAC titles. In addition, his teams made seven appearances in the Division III playoffs – twice advancing to the semifinals. Lastly, Accorsi was named the NJAC Coach of the Year five times, and a total of 258 players earned NJAC All-Conference honors under his tutelage. Pat Ruley, who played for Accorsi, returns home after spending the past six seasons at Susquehanna as their defensive coordinator.
Southwestern (TX):
2023 Coach: Joe Austin
2024 Coach: Bill Kriesel (Interim)
Notes: Austin is retiring from coaching as of July 26th, saying that he is putting the needs of his family before his job. He has been the head coach of the Pirates since 2013, and he leaves the school with a record of 36-67, and one conference title. Overall, he was a head coach for 15 years (four at Hanover) with a career record of 53-89. Kriesel, who has been with the program for the past twelve years and the Pirates defensive coordinator since 2015, will serve as the interim head coach.
TCNJ:
2023 Coach: Casey Goff
2024 Coach: Eric Jendryaszek (interim)
Notes: Goff resigned as head coach of the Lions to accept a head coaching position at a local high school. He took over the reins of the TCNJ program in 2017 and led his teams to a record of 20-38 during his seven-year tenure. This past season the Lions were 5-5, won their last four games, and they won their first game at Salisbury in two decades. Jendryaszek is the longest tenured assistant on the TCNJ staff as he arrived with Goff prior to the 2017 season. This past season has was the offensive line coach and recruiting coordinator.
Union (NY):
2023 Coach: Jon Poppe
2024 Coach: Jonathan Drach
Notes: In his only year at Union, Poppe guided the Garnet Chargers to a 10-2 mark and the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament. The team averaged almost 33 points per game – while holding opponents to 11.4 points per game. Drach resigned as head coach of Wilkes after six seasons to take over as head coach here.
Westfield State (MA):
2023 Coach: Pete Kowalski
2024 Coach: Lou Conte, Jr.
Notes: After nine seasons as head coach of Westfield State and forty years of coaching, Pete Kowalski is retiring to be with his family. Unfortunately, both his wife and daughter passed away this spring, so he wants to spend time with his grandchildren. While head coach of the Owls, Kowalkski amassed a record of 24-63. Conte, who becomes the sixth head coach in the Owls’ program history, served as the head coach at American International College (Division II) in Springfield, MA.
Westminster (MO):
2023 Coach: John Welty
2024 Coach: Luke Butts
Notes: Longtime Blue Jays head coach John Welty has retired after 24 years. He holds an overall head coaching record of 103-108, and he won three conference championships (two UMAC). Butts comes to the Blue Jays from Lake Forest, where he was the associate head coach and defensive coordinator of the Foresters since 2021.
Wilkes (PA):
2023 Coach: Jonathan Drach
2024 Coach: David Biever
Notes: Drach resigned as coach of the Colonels to take the head coaching position at Union. In his six seasons at the helm, Drach went 32-20 overall here, reaching at least five wins every season. Back in 2018, his first year here, Wilkes went 6-4 after going winless in 2017.
Willamette (OR):
2023 Coach: Isaac Parker
2024 Coach: Aric Williams
Notes: Following the Bearcats’ opening week 24-21 victory against La Verne in California to start the 2023 season, Parker has departed from Willamette and his name and bio have been removed from the athletics website. Parker, a Willamette graduate, took over as head coach in 2019, guiding the team to a 2-8 record. Parker then continued the trend of underwhelming results following the canceled COVID season of 2020 as his career record with the team was 6-25.
Worcester State (MA):
2023 Coach: Adam Peloquin
2024 Coach: TBD
Notes: With just a month to go before the Lancers game with cross-town rival WPI, Peloquin resigned as head coach of Worcester State. He will be teaching at a local high school this fall. In three years as the Lancers head coach, Peloquin went 5-25, which included a 1-9 season last year.