Thomsen earns AFCA honor
12/12/2008 6:00:00 AM | Football
WACO ? For the second time in the last three seasons, ACU head coach Chris Thomsen has been named the American Football Coaches' Association (AFCA) Region 4 Coach of the Year.
Thomsen led the Wildcats to an 11-1 record in 2008, the program's highest-ever ranking in NCAA Division II football (No. 2) and ACU's first outright Lone Star Conference championship since 1973. ACU advanced to the NCAA Division II quarterfinals for the first time before seeing its season come to an end in a 45-36 loss to Northwest Missouri State.
Thomsen's name will now be among the other five coach in Division II who will be up for the national Coach of the Year honor. Also named regional Coaches of the Year in 2008 are Danny Hale of Bloomsburg (Pa.) and John Luckhardt of California (Pa.) in Region 1, Frankie DeBusk of Tusculum in Region 2, Mel Tjeerdsma of Northwest Missouri State in Region 3 and Dan McLaughlin of Wayne State (Neb.) in Region 5.
The AFCA recognizes five regional Coach of the Year winners in each of the association's five divisions: NCAA I, NCAA I-AA, NCAA II, NCAA III and NAIA. The winners are selected by active members of the association who vote for coaches in their respective regions and divisions.
"This means a lot because it recognizes our coaching staff as a whole," said Thomsen, a native of Vernon, Texas. "I'm excited for our coaching staff because they've done a great job. It's also a great reflection on our players. We've got players who are committed to winning, and you can't win games without players who are committed to winning."
Thomsen ? 33-13 in four seasons as the Wildcats' head coach -- is the fourth ACU coach to earn the AFCA regional honor, joining Les Wheeler (1963), Wally Bullington (1973) and Dewitt Jones (1977) on the exclusive list. Wheeler led the Wildcats to an 8-1 mark in 1963, while Bullington and Jones each won an NAIA Division I national championship in their respective Coach-of-the-Year seasons.
Thomsen has been voted the Lone Star Conference South Division Coach of the Year in each of the last three seasons. Thomsen is only the fourth head coach in school history to win Coach of the Year honors in football, joining Bullington (1973), Ted Sitton (1981) and Dr. Bob Strader (1993) on the list.
