K. C. Keeler
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Kurt Charles Keeler (born July 26, 1959), known as K.C. Keeler, is the current head football coach at the University of Delaware football team in Newark, Delaware, USA.
A former linebacker with the Fightin' Blue Hens from 1978–1980 under coach Harold "Tubby" Raymond, he began his coaching career as an assistant at Amherst College in 1981 and then at Rowan University in 1986. He became Rowan head coach starting with the 1993 season, ending his tenure in 2001 with an 88-21-1 (.804) record and seven NCAA Division III playoff appearances.[1]
After Raymond retired in 2002, Keeler became the fourth Delaware head football coach in 62 years. He brought a new offensive philosophy to the team, by replacing its infamous "Winged-T" formation in exchange for a no-huddle, spread offense. Delaware won its first national championship since 1979 and first-ever Division I-AA title in 2003 with a 15-1 record and a 149-23 total score in the four-game playoff series.
Keeler has become something of a celebrity in Delaware (although he is a native of Emmaus, Pennsylvania). He was named "Delawarean of the Year" in 2004 by Delaware Today magazine and was listed as one of the top college football recruiters by American Football Monthly magazine. The (Wilmington) News Journal reported that Keeler was forced to hire an agent after the 2003 championship to help manage speaking engagements, guest appearances and private functions. His trademark sunglasses (which he has also worn during night games) and wireless headgear are emulated with K.C. Keeler bobbleheads sold at games and local businesses.
He often attacks criticism that Division I-AA programs are of lesser caliber than I-A. “We’re the LSU; we’re the Georgia, the Florida of Division I-AA,” Keeler said in American Football Monthly. “We have every resource. There’s some people who have better resources than we do, but in general, the college campus we have is in one of the greatest college towns in America, and the academics ... we led the nation last year in out-of-state applications, more than Michigan or Texas. But that’s what this school has become – everybody wants to come to school here."[2]
He was 0-5 in Stagg Bowls (Division III National Championship) at Rowan, losing by an average of 42.4 to 18.4.
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