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BLOOMSBURG—Bloomsburg University head football coach Danny Hale capped off a tremendous season Tuesday night by being named the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Division II Coach of the Year. Hale received his award during the AFCA's annual Coach of the Year banquet at the Marriot Marquis Hotel in Atlanta, GA.

Hale becomes the second Bloomsburg coach to be named the AFCA Division II Coach of the Year joining George Landis who won the award in 1985.

"This is a tremendous honor because it's determined by my peers in the coaching profession," said Hale. "The award is a reflection of the team and our great staff, which always does a great job in preparing for games. I accept this award on behalf of the team, the staff, the university and the town of Bloomsburg."

"No one ever picked us (Bloomsburg) to get as far as we did this season," Hale commented. "I can't go very far down here without someone congratulating me on the type of season we had, which is nice."

Along with being named the Division II Coach of the Year, some extra perks come with the honor. Hale will now travel to Hawaii to serve as an assistant coach in the upcoming Hula Bowl, the college senior all-star game. Hale will be on the sidelines working as an assistant coach for either Frank Beamer of Virginia Tech or Bobby Bowden of Florida State. The football team will also be given a $10,000 scholarship on behalf of the AFCA.

"You will have to pinch me about the Hawaii trip," said Hale. "My wife (Diane) and I have not had a trip like this in a long time. I am looking forward to going and being part of such as great event."

Hale, in his eighth season at Bloomsburg, guided the Huskies to a record of 12-3 this past season. Along the way, Bloomsburg won 12-straight games, captured the NCAA Northeast Regional championship and advanced to the Division II championship game for the first time in school history. The Huskies lost the title game to Delta State, 63-34.

Bloomsburg reached the title game despite starting the season 0-2. Playing each remaining game as a one-game playoff, the Huskies rolled through the rest of the regular season. By winning the last nine games of the regular season, they earned a sspot in the NCAA playoffs. Among their victories were wins over teams raked number one in the Northeast Region at the time Bloomsburg faced them (Indiana, PA; Millersville and Slippery Rock).

The Huskies opened the NCAA playoffs with a 46-32 win over Saginaw Valley, following that up with a

38-14 win over Northwood, also ranked number one in the Northeast, in the regional title game.

In what may have been the best game of the college football season, at any level, the Huskies rallied from a 19-point, fourth quarter deficit against the number one team in the country, UC Davis, to win 58-48, in the national semifinals. Playing on the road in front of 10,000 people, the Huskies out-gained the Aggies, 201-63 in the final 15 minutes of the game, while scoring four touchdowns to advance to the national championship.

Hale is the Huskies' all-time winningest coach with a record of 64-27-1. During his 13-year career as a head coach (five years at West Chester), Hale is a combined 104-40-1, a winning percentage of .720, eighth best among active coaches in Division II. He has also guided his teams to three NCAA playoff berths.

Hale earned Coach of the Year honors from the PSAC East from 1994 to 1997 and also in 2000. Three times at Bloomsburg (1994, 1995, 2000) he has been honored as the AFCA District 1 as Coach of the Year. Overall, Hale has six such honors from the AFCA and seven from the PSAC. In 1997, he coached Irv Sigler, who went on to win the Harlon Hill Award, symbolic of being the top player in Division II.

Formerly the head coach at West Chester University, Hale had a 40-13 record in five seasons. West Chester appeared throughout the team and individual national statistics and possessed the nation's top scoring offense and rushing defense in 1987.

The Golden Rams were nationally ranked throughout this time and achieved the highest ranking by a PSAC school to that point - number two in both 1987 and 1988. Prior to coaching at West Chester, Hale was the offensive line coach at Colgate. He went to Colgate from Bucknell, where he was the offensive line coach from 1975-80 and was defensive coordinator/linebacker coach at Vermont in 1974.

Hale is a graduate of West Chester, earning his bachelor's and master's degrees in Health and Physical Education in 1968 and 1973. He was an all-conference pick at West Chester and earned the team's most valuable player award. A member of the West Chester Football Hall of Fame, Hale also lettered three seasons for the school's track and field unit.

Hale played one season for the Pottstown Firebirds, the semi professional farm club of the Philadelphia Eagles, before entering the Marine Corps where he played middle linebacker for the Quantico Marines. Following a three-year stint, he was honorably discharged as a first lieutenant in 1972.