Mike Cragg

December 3, 2002

GENEVA, N.Y.—Hobart College Head Coach Mike Cragg was among the 20 college football coaches honored nationwide by the American Football Coaches Association as a Regional Coach of the Year. The AFCA honors one head coach in each of its five regions at the Division I-A, I-AA, II, and III levels.

Cragg led the Statesmen to an 8-1 regular season, including a seven-game win streak to start the season. That 7-0 start was the program’s best since 1954. Cragg also led the Statesmen unscathed through the Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association, earning Hobart its third league championship in the past five seasons.

As is befitting a champion, Hobart dominated the All-UCAA voting this season. Cragg was named the UCAA Coach of the Year, while the Statesmen captured the Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year awards and 14 of the 25 spots on the All-UCAA first team.

Cragg’s Statesmen also earned the program’s second NCAA Tournament bid in the past three years, the only two invitations in Hobart’s 109-season history. Hobart lost in this year’s first round to 11th-ranked John Carroll University, 27-7.

In eight seasons at the helm, Cragg has compiled a 49-29 career record (.628) and ranks third in career victories and second in career winning percentage at Hobart. The Statesmen have posted seven consecutive .500 or better seasons under his leadership, one shy of the school record (1921-1928 and 1951-1958).

Cragg is just the second Hobart head coach to earn AFCA Regional Coach of the Year honors. Bill Maxwell was the first, garnering the award in 1993 following a 7-3 campaign.