December 3, 2002
(Release courtesy of Kristina Mess, SID, Coe College)

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . Coe College head football coach Erik Raeburn was named regional Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). The AFCA recognizes five regional Coach of the Year winners in each of the association’s four divisions: I-A, I-AA, Division II (NCAA Division II and NAIA schools) and Division III. The winners are selected by active members of the association who vote for coaches in their respective regions and divisions.

Raeburn, a native of Diamond, Ohio, led the Kohawks to a 10-2 overall record this season, which improved his three-year coaching record to 22-10 at Coe. This season the Kohawks earned a share of the Iowa Conference title and advanced to the second round the NCAA Division III playoffs, a first in Coe’s history. Coe’s league title was the first since the Kohawks joined the Iowa Conference in 1998, and the eight conference wins this year are a single-season high in Iowa Conference play for the program. Raeburn was also named Coach of the Year by the Iowa Conference (IIAC) for the 2002 season.

Before Coe, Raeburn served as an assistant coach at Mount Union for seven seasons under his uncle Larry Kehres, who won his 10th AFCA regional Coach of the Year award this year. As a player and assistant coach, Raeburn’s teams posted an impressive record of 127-9-2, including four Division III National Championships and nearly 10 conference championships. Three of those national titles came in consecutive years (1996-98). Additionally, in Raeburn’s seven years as an assistant coach, the Purple Raiders qualified for post-season play each year. In 1999, Mount Union set a new NCAA Division III record, posting 54 consecutive wins.

Raeburn and his wife Liz reside in Cedar Rapids and are expecting their first child.

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