Football Southern Conference

Ayers Named AFCA Region Coach of the Year

Wofford Head Football Coach Mike Ayers has been named the Division I-AA
Region Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association.

Ayers is now one of five finalists for AFCA Division I-AA National Coach
of the Year, which will be announced Jan. 7 at the AFCA Convention in
New Orleans.

The other Division I-AA region winners were Don Brown (Northeastern),
Tim Billings (Southeast Missouri State), Don Patterson (Western
Illinois), and Joe Glenn (Montana).

Ayers led the Terriers to a second-place finish in the SoCon with a 9-3
overall record and 6-2 league mark. Wofford, the only team in Division
I-AA to beat two teams ranked in the top five (Georgia Southern,
Appalachian State), was picked to finish seventh in preseason polls by
the league coaches and media.

Already Wofford's all-time winningest coach with 90 victories, Ayers
recorded his 100th career win in a 39-10 victory at East Tennessee State
(Nov. 9). During his 15-year tenure at Wofford, Ayers has guided the
Terrier program from NAIA membership to NCAA Division II, Division I-AA
Independent, and the Southern Conference.

Ayers was previously AFCA Region Coach of the Year in 1990 and 1991,
when he led the Terriers to NCAA Division II playoff appearances in both
seasons.