Cerroni Named AFCA Region Coach of the Year
UW-Oshkosh's Pat Cerroni has been selected as the NCAA Division III Region 5 Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA).
Cerroni, who led the Titans to their second unbeaten WIAC season in four years, also earned regional honors in 2012. He was named the WIAC Coach of the Year for the second time (2012) earlier this season.
UW-Oshkosh (11-2) set a program record with 550 points this year and tallied four shutouts in the same season for the first time since 1933. The Titans achieved their highest national ranking in school history, polling third by D3football.com during each of the three weeks prior to the NCAA Division III Championship.
UW-Oshkosh, which produced its second highest victory total in program history, allowed just six fourth-quarter points the entire season and rattled off 11 consecutive wins.
The Titans eclipsed the school's single-game scoring record during an 86-0 victory over Finlandia University on Sept. 12 and snapped UW-Whitewater's 36-game winning streak with a 10-7 decision on Oct. 10.
UW-Oshkosh became the first WIAC team to score 60 or more points in one season after the shutout of Finlandia and its triumphs of 69-14 over UW-Stout on Oct. 3 and a 63-28 over UW-Platteville on Oct. 24.
Cerroni guided the Titans this season to their second NCAA postseason appearance. UW-Oshkosh advanced to the quarterfinal round of the 32-team tournament with wins of 48-0 over The College of St. Scholastica (Minn.) and 42-7 over Ohio Northern University before falling, 31-29, to two-time defending champion UW-Whitewater.
UW-Oshkosh had 20 players receive All-WIAC honors, including sophomore quarterback Brett Kasper, the league's Offensive Player of the Year. Five of the nine Titans named to the All-WIAC First Team were on offense.
The Titans currently rank third in the NCAA Division III in red zone defense (.538) and kickoff return average (26.63), fifth in defensive touchdowns (4) and red zone offense (.900), sixth in first downs (308), and 10th in third-down conversion rate (.503) and fewest penalties per game (4.15).
Cerroni, who led the Titans to the national semifinals in 2012, owns a 64-32 record during his nine seasons as UW-Oshkosh's head coach. Since 2011, Cerroni has compiled a 45-12 coaching record while guiding the Titans to five straight winning seasons for the first time since 1921-25.
A veteran of the U.S. Air Force (1984-88), Cerroni received his bachelor's degree from Carroll University in 1992 and his master's degree from UW-Oshkosh in 2004.
The other regional Coach of the Year recipients were E.J. Mills from Amherst College (Mass.) in Region 1, Jeff Pukszyn from Moravian College (Pa.) in Region 2, Buck Buchanan from Hendrix College (Ark.) in Region 3, and Mike Swider from Wheaton College (Ill.) in Region 4.
The AFCA Region Coach of the Year winners will be recognized at the association's convention in San Antonio, Texas, on Jan. 12, when a National Coach of the Year will be named.