Wittenberg University announced the hiring of veteran coach, 1988 alumnus, and former Tiger football wide receiver Jim Collins as its new head football coach in November 2021. Collins most recently served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Dayton (UD).

“We are extremely excited to welcome back former Wittenberg Tiger Jim Collins as our head football coach,” said Brian Agler, vice president and director of athletics and recreation. “Jim is a proven winner who has coached championship teams. He has ‘lived’ the Wittenberg University football tradition. Being elite in all facets is the standard in our football program, and we are confident that Coach Collins will embrace this standard daily.”

Collins arrived at Wittenberg with an impressive resume spanning 30 years of coaching success. Prior his stint at UD, he served as the director of player personnel at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point (2019), which followed 11 years as the head coach at Saginaw Valley State (2008-2019), where Collins led his teams to three straight Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference North Division Championships from 2011-2013 and three NCAA Division II playoff appearances (2009, 2011, 2013). Collins’ teams also ranked in the final national poll twice (2009, 2013) and final regional poll six times (2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2018).

From 1997-2007, Collins served as the head coach at Capital University, where he was named Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Coach of the Year on three separate occasions (2001, 2003, 2006). While there, Collins led his team to three NCAA Division III Playoff Appearances (2005, 2006, 2007), and his team was ranked in the final national poll three times (#3 in 2006, #5 in 2005, #13 in 2007).

Early in his career, Collins served as offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach, and wide receivers coach at Illinois Wesleyan from 1991-1993, and he helped lead the Titans to the 1992 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin title and an NCAA Division III Playoff berth. He then served as head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach for the University of Dubuque from 1994-1996.

Described as “a high energy leader with a proven track record of building and directing successful football programs, developing a winning culture, setting a standard of excellence, emphasizing high academic achievement, developing talent, and aggressively recruiting outstanding student athletes,” Collins called the opportunity to head the football program at Wittenberg “a dream.” 

“This is the job I’ve dreamed of my whole career, and I am humbled to join the list of exceptional coaches at my alma mater,” Collins said. “Wittenberg is the total package:  A life-changing experience, excellence in academics, high moral and ethical values, and a tradition-rich athletic program that is second to none.”

Collins, who hails from Cincinnati, was a team captain and team MVP as a senior on the Wittenberg football team. In 1985, he earned the team’s Most Improved Offensive Player of the Year. When he graduated, Collins ranked second in program history in career receptions with 116. He was a three-time All-OAC selection.

Collins, who has been a member of the American Football Coaches Association since 1991, serving on the Rules Committee and All-American Committee, received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Wittenberg and his master’s degree in athletic administration from Central Michigan University. He is married to Brooke Bevilacqua Collins, Wittenberg class of 1988, and together they have three grown children, Zachary, Ryan, and Brady. 

In returning to Wittenberg, Collins assumes the reins of a program that has won five national championships and 33 conference titles over more than a century of gridiron excellence. The Tigers have the second-highest win total among NCAA Division III programs, and Wittenberg has not posted a losing record since 1954. Wittenberg ended 7-3 overall and 7-2 in the NCAC in 2021, good for a second-place finish. Collins replaces Joe Fincham, who recently announced his retirement after compiling a record of 224-51 in 25 years leading the Tigers.