Dec. 5, 2007
Center Valley, Pa. - Another honor came in for Fordham Head Coach Tom Masella on Tuesday, as the Patriot League Football Coach of the Year was named the American Football Coaches Association's Region 1 Co-Coach of the Year.
Masella was one of six Football Championship Subdivision coaches to earn regional honors. He shared the Region 1 Coach of the Year award with Richmond Head Coach Dave Clawson.
Masella led Fordham to its first Patriot League title and postseason berth since 2002, and its first-ever outright Patriot League Championship. The Rams finished the year with an 8-4 overall mark and 5-1 Patriot League record after going 3-8 overall and 1-5 in the Patriot League last year. They were picked to finish sixth in the League's preseason poll.
The Rams got off to a 2-2 start in non-League action this year. But they got hot when the Patriot League schedule kicked off, winning at Colgate, 34-31, at home against Lehigh, 28-18, and at Georgetown, 38-31, to take a 3-0 record into a matchup at preseason favorite Lafayette. The Rams came out with a 34-23 victory at Lafayette, setting up an opportunity to clinch the League title and automatic berth to the NCAA Division I Football Championship against Holy Cross on Nov. 3. The Rams came through with another win, beating Holy Cross, 24-21, to claim their first League title and playoff berth since 2002. The Rams recorded a six-game winning streak that is their longest on the Division I level. They captured the first outright title for any Patriot League team since 2003. Fordham's season ended with a 49-35 loss at Massachusetts in the first round of the playoffs.
The AFCA recognition adds to a pair of honors that Masella had already received after Fordham's season. In addition to winning the Patriot League Coach of the Year award, he received national attention when he was named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, presented to the top coach in the FCS.
The AFCA recognizes five regional Coach of the Year winners in the FCS, FBS, Division II, 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 2007 Regional Coach of the Year winners will be recognized at the AFCA Coach of the Year dinner at the 2008 AFCA Convention in Anaheim, California. The AFCA will also announce its five 2007 National Coach of the Year winners at the convention.
