Wittenberg Football Head Coach Joe Fincham Named Great Lakes Region Coach Of The Year

Joe Fincham

Springfield, Ohio — For the second time in his career, Wittenberg University Football Head Coach Joe Fincham has been selected Region II Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA).

The award comes a week after Fincham was named North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Coach of the Year for the sixth time in his 14-year career as the Tigers' head coach. Fincham also picked up the regional award in 1998. His six NCAC awards came in 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2006 and 2009.

Fincham led the Tigers to the 18th undefeated regular season in school history in 2009, including records of 10-0 overall and 7-0 in the NCAC. Wittenberg won its ninth NCAC title in 21 years in the league - including seven under Fincham's direction - good for a tie with Allegheny for the most in conference history.

The outright title - the fifth under Fincham (Wittenberg shared the 1997 and 2006 titles) - advanced the Tigers to their 13th NCAA Division III Tournament since its inception in 1973. Wittenberg defeated Mount St. Joseph in the first round and Trine in the second round to reach the national quarterfinals for the fourth time since Fincham took the reins in 1996.

Ranked No. 11 in the country by the AFCA and No. 12 by d3football.com in the final regular season poll, Wittenberg will take on the consensus No. 2 ranked squad, Wisconsin-Whitewater, at noon (CST) Saturday, Dec. 5.

Fincham, a native of Williamstown, W.Va. and a 1988 graduate of Ohio University, has career records of 126-29 overall and 85-14 in the NCAC. His NCAA Division III Tournament record is 9-6.

Fincham trails only National College Football Hall of Fame honoree Dave Maurer, who posted a 129-23-3 record between 1969 and 1983, in total wins at Wittenberg. He ranks third in winning percentage as his .810 mark trails Maurer (.842) and fellow National College Football Hall of Famer Bill Edwards, who had a 98-20-4 record (.820) between 1955 and 1969.

Wittenberg is one of six institutions with 10 or more AFCA Regional Coach of the Year designations and trails only Mount Union College among NCAA Division III programs. Fincham is one of four Wittenberg coaches to earn a regional award from the AFCA (Bill Edwards 3, Dave Maurer 4, Ron Murphy 1 and Fincham 2).

Written by: Ryan Maurer