Springfield, Mass. – December 19, 2024 – Springfield College football head coach Mike Cerasuolo has been named as the Associated Press (AP) Division III Football National Coach of the Year after a historic 2024 campaign on Alden Street.

Cerasuolo is the first in Springfield football program history and first from the New England region to earn the prestigious honor.

It was a historic season for the Pride, as it set a program record for wins (12) and became just the second team from New England to ever reach the national quarterfinals, matching the feat that Springfield also did in 2000. Springfield concluded the year with 5,557 rushing yards, the most in the history of Division III and a new program record, while the Pride's 583 points scored and 808 rushing attempts were the most ever in the 134-year history of the program.

As a team, Springfield's rushing offense averaged 427.5 yards per game, which ranked first across all NCAA Divisions this fall. The Pride also ranked second in third down conversions (0.591), fifth in first downs (312) and ninth in time of possession (33:48).

Cerasuolo, also named Region I Coach of the Year by D3football.com, led Springfield to its fourth consecutive New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship title this fall. In that span of four seasons, Cerasuolo and the Pride have produced an unblemished record of 26-0 in conference contests and an overall record of 37-10.

After winning the NEWMAC title, 55-20, at Maritime, Springfield earned a first round bye in the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. The Pride hosted a second-round game on Stagg Field against UMass-Dartmouth defeating the Corsairs, 54-27, before dethroning the defending national champions and second-ranked Cortland on the road, 40-28, in the third round of the tournament.

Cerasuolo coached AP First Team All-American and two-time NEWMAC Offensive Player of the Year Arsen Shtefan (West Hartford, Conn.), who recorded a Division III leading 1,716 yards on the ground this fall. His 1,716 yards are the most on the ground since Jordan Wilcox posted 1,786 in 2017.

Shtefan also ranked third in the nation in rushing touchdowns with 21 and fifth in the country with 132 rushing yards per game. Cerasuolo also saw a program record seven student-athletes earn a spot on the D3football.com All-Region I teams and earn four major awards from the NEWMAC including Shtefan's Offensive Athlete of the Year award – Billy Carr (Southington, Conn.) NEWMAC Defensive Athlete of the Year, Joe Maurer (Wilbraham, Mass.) Special Teams Athlete of the Year and Aaziah Scott (Savannah, Ga.) Rookie of the Year.

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