Courtesy Amherst Sports Information

AMHERST, Mass. – E.J. Mills of Amherst College has been named the American Football Coaches Association Division III Region 1 Coach of the Year, the AFCA announced today. This is the first AFCA honor for Mills, who is now eligible for the Association’s National Coach of the Year award.

Mills’ 13th season as Amherst’s head coach was his most accomplished, as the Lord Jeffs finished at a perfect 8-0 for the first time since 1984. Amherst has posted a 7-1 record three times and a 6-2 mark twice since Mills took the helm in 1997 as an interim coach. In his 13 seasons as head coach, Mills has led the Jeffs to 74 victories and only 30 defeats (.712).

“Prior to Amherst I had been at six different schools working for six different head coaches,” says Amherst offensive coordinator Don Faulstick, who has worked with Mills since the interim 1997 season. “There were some good head coaches, but E.J. has been the best. When I first watched and listened to him address the team, I knew he was going to be an outstanding head coach and that his interim title wouldn’t last long.”

The 2009 season was one of the most celebrated in program history, thanks in large part to Mills and an incredible coaching staff. The Lord Jeffs won their first outright NESCAC title, claimed the Little Three crown for the first time since 2004, defeated Trinity College for the first time since 2001, and won at rival Williams College’s Weston Field for the first time since 1985. For his efforts, Mills was unanimously chosen as NESCAC Coach of the Year.

Known as a defensive mastermind, Mills once again led Amherst to the top of several statistical leader boards at the national level. The Lord Jeffs currently lead all of Division III in sacks per game (4.75) and rank second in rushing defense (50.9 ypg), third in tackles-for-loss per game (9.5), and fourth in scoring defense (10.4 ppg) and red zone defense (52%).

Under Mills’ reign the program has produced two NESCAC Offensive Players of the Year and three Defensive Players of the Year, with inside linebacker Mike Taylor ’10 earning the conference’s top defensive honor this year. Twelve Amherst players have earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors since 1997, with two also being named Academic All-Americans.

“It’s not just the x’s and o’s that make E.J. exceptional,” says Faulstick. “It’s the philosophy he has that each player should strive to be the best student, person and football player—in that order—he can be. He takes an interest in every player’s life outside of football. A lot of coaches say they care about academics and personal goals, but it’s clear that E.J. really does.”

The AFCA recognizes five regional Coach of the Year winners in each of the Association’s five divisions: Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA. The winners are selected by active members of the Association who vote for coaches in their respective regions and divisions.

The 2009 Regional Coach of the Year winners will be recognized at the AFCA Coach of the Year Dinner at the 2010 AFCA Convention in Orlando, Fla. The dinner is scheduled for Jan. 12. The AFCA will also announce its five 2009 National Coach of the Year winners at the dinner.