Springfield’s Mike Cerasuolo Named Walter Camp 2024 Division III Coach of the Year

Springfield College head coach Mike Cerasuolo is the first-ever recipient of the Walter Camp Division III Coach of the Year award.

Under Cerasuolo’s guidance, the Pride set a program record for victories (12) and became just the second team from New England to ever reach the national quarterfinals, matching the feat that Springfield also did in 2000.

Springfield concluded the year with 5,557 rushing yards, the most in the history of Division III and a new program record, while the Pride’s 583 points scored and 808 rushing attempts were the most ever in the 134-year history of the program.

As a team, Springfield’s rushing offense averaged 427.5 yards per game, which ranked first across all NCAA Divisions this fall. The Pride also ranked second in third down conversions (0.591), fifth in first downs (312) and ninth in time of possession (33:48).

Cerasuolo, also named the Region I Coach of the Year by D3football.com, led Springfield to its fourth consecutive New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship title this fall. After winning the NEWMAC title, 55-20, at Maritime, Springfield earned a first-round bye in the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament. The Pride hosted a second-round game on Stagg Field against UMass-Dartmouth defeating the Corsairs, 54-27, before dethroning the defending national champions and second-ranked Cortland on the road, 40-28, in the third round.

Cerasuolo was named the 14th head football coach in the program’s history in January of 2016.  In nine seasons, Cerasuolo has recorded a 66-23 career record (.742).

A standout student-athlete for Springfield College from 1989-1993, Cerasuolo was a two-time Division II All-New England selection as a center. After earning his bachelor’s degree in physical education, Cerasuolo went on to receive his master’s degree in sport pedagogy from Ithaca in 1995.  Cerasuolo and his wife, Tracy, reside in Hampden, Mass. with their two daughters.

 Walter Camp, “The Father of American football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team.  Visit www.waltercamp.org for more information.