WACO, Texas – Kutztown University head coach Raymond Monica was named the 2011 American Football Coaches Association Region I Coach of the Year, claiming the award for the second straight year.

The 2011 Regional Coach of the Year winners will be recognized at the AFCA Coach of the Year Dinner at the 2012 AFCA Convention in San Antonio, Texas. The dinner is scheduled for Tuesday, January 10.

Monica was one of just three coaches in all divisions to repeat after winning the award in 2010, along with Mount Union's Larry Kehres and MidAmerica Nazarene's Jonathan Quinn.

“This award is really for the program – from the players and assistant coaches, to the administration, alumni, fans and everyone at the University,” Monica noted.  “Everyone plays a role in the success of the team.  Their support means a lot to all of us.”

He earns the honor after guiding the Golden Bears to another record setting 2011 season on the gridiron.  KU set a school record for wins in a season (11), while winning its first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship and NCAA playoff game.  Kutztown rose as high as sixth in the AFCA Division II rankings, the highest in school history.   The team's six PSAC East victories tied the school mark set last season.

Monica also repeated as the PSAC East Coach of the Year and had 10 student-athletes named to the All-PSAC East team, including Offensive Player of the Year Kevin Morton (Abington, PA/Abington) (Abington, PA/Abington).  Four players, offensive lineman Aaron McGlynn (Harleysville/Souderton) (Harleysville, PA/Souderton), Morton, Brett Moss (Bensalem, PA/Bensalem) (Bensalem, PA/Bensalem) and Alex DiNolfi (Norristown, PA/Norristown) (Norristown, PA/Norristown) were named to the Daktronics All-Super Region I team.  Wide receiver Josh Smith (West Lawn, PA/Wilson) (West Lawn, PA/Wilson) was voted to the Capital One Academic All-District Team.

Kutztown scored 35 points nine times this season en route to a school-record 487 points.   Moss set a school-record for sacks in a season and leads Division II in total sacks with 18.5.  DiNolfi set a school-record with 11 interceptions on the year, the most in Division II this year. Smith tied a KU record with 23 receiving touchdowns in his career earlier this season. Morton established a school-record this season of throwing at least one touchdown pass in 21 straight games and passed for a school-record 458 yards against C.W. Post.

The Golden Bears lead Division II in kickoff returns with an average of 27.73 yards/return with Josh Mastromatto (Fort Washington, PA/Upper Dublin) (Fort Washington, PA/Upper Dublin) leading the way with a 29.54 return average that ranked him seventh.  Behind Morton, who rates fourth overall, Kutztown is 11th in pass efficiency (154.96).  KU also ranks 10th in total offense (465.23 yards/game) and 12th in scoring (37.46 points/game).

“The ability to build a successful athletic program and football program starts at the top,” Monica added. “The support we've been shown by President Dr. Javier Cevallos, Associate Vice President John Green, Director of Athletics Greg  Bamberger, the rest of the athletics staff and the university as a whole to help us build this program is outstanding.”

Monica earned his first Super Region I Coach of the Year Award in 2010 after guiding the Golden Bears to one of the biggest turnarounds in Division II football. After posting a 3-8 record in 2009, Kutztown enjoyed a seven-win improvement this season under Monica, who is in his fifth year at the helm of the Golden Bears. Monica earns his first career Coach of the Year honor and is the first Kutztown coach to earn the East Coach of the Year award since Barry Fetterman in 1991.

The AFCA recognizes five regional Coach of the Year winners in each of the Association's five divisions: Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, 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.