Coe's Staker named Division III coach of the year

Coe College football coach Steve Staker has been named the Liberty Mutual National Coach of the Year for NCAA Division III.

As the winner of the award, Staker will be able to designate $50,000 to the charities of his choice, with an additional $20,000 to benefit alumni programs at Coe.

The Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year program recognizes one coach in each of the four divisions of college football, celebrating coaches whose seasons were marked by the success and sportsmanship of their teams on the field, achievements by their student-athletes in the classroom, and their selfless support of charity and their communities.

Staker, along with Gary Patterson of Texas Christian University, Jerry Moore of Appalachian State University and Mel Tjeerdsma of Northwest Missouri State University, will be honored in the permanent Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year display at the College Football Hall of Fame.

In just two years at the helm of the Coe football program, Staker's Kohawks have become a national force. After a four-win campaign last year, the 2009 team finished this season 10-2, just the third 10-win season in school history, while reaching the second round of the Division III playoffs. The Kohawks also earned a school-best final season D3football.com ranking of #10 in the nation.

Off the field, Coach Staker and his program are making a great impact in the community as well. He and his players volunteer for the Special Olympics in the off-season and at local elementary school events. Coach Staker also volunteers his time to maintain baseball diamonds for the Hiawatha Kids' League, and continues to help out at Fredericksburg High School track meets, where he was the head track coach for 28 years and head football coach for 35 years and head baseball coach for 31 years before arriving at Coe as a defensive coach in 2005.

As the Fredericksburg football coach, Staker's teams won six district titles and a state championship in 2001 when he was Class A Coach of the Year. He was named to the Iowa Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1994.

“Countless student-athletes and communities benefit from the leadership, commitment and heart of college football coaches at every level,” said Archie Manning, chair of the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame. “These four men rose to the top in 2009 by displaying the four tenets of the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award: sportsmanship, integrity, responsibility and excellence, on and off the field.”

Coaches Patterson, Moore, Tjeerdsma and Staker were selected from a group of 25 finalists (10 coaches from the Football Bowl Subdivision, and five coaches each from the Football Championship Subdivision, Division II and Division III) through fan votes cast December 15-29 at www.CoachoftheYear.com and ballots from elite selection committees of national media and College Football Hall of Fame players. Fans votes contributed 20 percent to each coach's final score, and the media and College Football Hall of Fame accounted for 25 percent and 55 percent, respectively.

College Football Hall of Fame Voters included: Bob Anderson, Jim Ballard, Tom Beck, Tom Brahaney, Roger Brown, Teel Bruner, Marino Casem, Jim Christopherson, John Cooper, Carmen Cozza, Jeff Davis, Dan Dierdorf, Jim Dombrowski, Terry Donahue, Jim Donnan, Vince Dooley, Joe Dudek, LaVell Edwards, Dick Farley, Joe Fusco, Bob Griese, Archie Griffin, Roger Harring, Chad Hennings, Lou Holtz, Jim Houston, Don James, Billy Joe, Johnnie Johnson, Ron Johnson, Roy Kidd, Gordie Lockbaum , Ronnie Lott, Archie Manning, Fred Martinelli, Mark May,

Rueben Mayes, Randall McDaniel, Don McPherson, Darrell Mudra, Don Nehlen, Tom Osborne, Tubby Raymond, Bob Reade, Jerry Rice, James Saxton, Jeff Siemon, Bruce Smith, Jim Sochor, Jessie Tuggle, Herschel Walker, Frosty Westering, Paul Wiggin, Reggie Williams, Richard Wood and Ron Yary.

National media voters included: Craig Bennett (USA Today), Jack Bogaczyk (Charleston Daily Mail), Tim Brando (CBS Sports, Sporting News Radio), Chris Childers (Rivals Sports Radio Network), Pat Coleman (D3football.com), Steve Conroy (Boston Herald), Colin Cowherd (ESPN Radio), Greg Dewalt (D2 Hall of Fame), Bob Eblen (D2football.com), Teddy Greenstein (Chicago Tribune), Kirk Herbstreit (ESPN), Clyde Hughes (D3football.com), Keith Jackson (Hall of Fame Sportscaster), Dan Jenkins (Sportswriter/National Football Foundation historian), Bill King (Rivals Sports Radio Network), Ivan Maisel (ESPN.com), Stewart Mandel (Sports Illustrated), Gordie Mann (D3football.com), Keith McMillan (D3football.com), Brandon Misener (D2football.com), Ryan Tipps (D3football.com) and Bud Withers (Seattle Times).