Collins Added to Football Staff

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Head coach Jeff Monken announced the hiring of coaching veteran Jim Collins as Army West Point's new Director of Player Personnel.

Collins arrives at West Point after 11 years at the helm of Saginaw Valley State. Collins will head the player personnel department and contribute to all recruiting efforts.

In 11 seasons, Collins led SVSU to the NCAA Division II playoffs on three different occasions in 2009, 2011, and 2013. His program won a share of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) North Division Championship in both his 2011 and 2012 seasons, as well as claiming the North outright in 2013.

In his tenure at SVSU, Collins coached an All-American at the linebacker position, at the receiver position, and at the safety position, while also helping three to Academic All American praise. In addition, Collins tutored the GLIAC Player of the Year, the two-time GLIAC Offensive Back of the Year, two Defensive Back of the Year and GLIAC Freshman of the Year. Collins has also had over 100 of his athletes attain status on the All-Academic team.

Collins was at Capital University (Ohio) prior to his stint at SVSU, where his teams compiled a record of 44-13 over his last five seasons and reached the NCAA Division III playoffs each of his final three years. In his 11 seasons at the helm of Capital, he helped turn around a football program that had not enjoyed a winning season since 1991. He finished with an overall record of 66-51, setting school marks for victories in 2005 (10) and again in 2006 (11), and concluded the 2005-07 seasons ranked fifth, third, and 15th nationally. His teams were eliminated from the playoffs by the eventual national champion each time.

Known for his innovative offensive mind, Collins has a tremendous reputation in the state of Ohio. He was named the Ohio Athletic Conference Coach of the Year three times in 2001, 2003 and 2006. He also won awards as the American Football Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 2005, the Football Gazette North Region Coach of the Year in 2006, and the Lee Tressel Ohio College Coach of the Year in 2006.

At Capital, Collins coached 13 All-Americans and two Academic All-Americans. His players also fared well in the classroom, with more than 50 percent of them recording a GPA of 3.0 or higher.

Collins served as a graduate assistant at Central Michigan University from 1989 to 1990. In 1991, Collins took over as the offensive coordinator at Illinois Wesleyan University, where he helped lead the team to its first ever berth in the NCAA playoffs. From there, Collins took his first head-coaching job at the University of Dubuque (Iowa), where he coached from 1994 to 1996 before taking over at Capital.

During his stops, Collins has shown a versatile offense. At Illinois Wesleyan, Collins directed the best rushing offense in school history in 1991, and then led the best passing offense in school history the following year. During his tenure at Capital, Collins' teams set more than 40 school records, including most points scored, passing yards, total yards and touchdowns during the 2006 season when the Crusaders went 11-2 and finished third nationally in the D3football.com final poll.

Collins also has gained respect off the field, having been a member of the American Football Coaches Association Coaches Council as well as serving as the North Region chair of the NCAA Division III National Football Committee. He was also on the Division II All-American Selection Committee as well as the AFCA Rules Committee.
He played his college football at Wittenberg University where he was a four-year letter winner, three-year starter, and earned honorable mention All-American honors his senior year as a wide receiver. He and his wife, Brooke, have three sons Zach, Ryan, and Brady

Army West Point Athletics

Collins Added to Football Staff

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