WACO, TEX. — The AFCA is honored to present its top coaching award — AFCA National Coach of the Year — to five outstanding coaches. The 2024 AFCA National Coach of the Year winners are: Indiana's Curt Cignetti (FBS), Stony Brook's Billy Cosh (FCS), Valdosta State's Tremaine Jackson (Division II), Salisbury's
Sherman Wood (Division III) and Keiser's Myles Russ (NAIA).
The winners are selected by a vote of the Active AFCA members at four-year schools in the Association's five divisions. The AFCA has named a Coach of the Year since 1935. The AFCA Coach of the Year award is the oldest and most prestigious of all the Coach of the Year awards and is the only one chosen exclusively by coaches.
Wood earned his first AFCA National Coach of the Year honor in his 32nd season as a head coach. In 2024, Wood guided Salisbury to a 12-1 record, the New Jersey Athletic Conference title, and an appearance in the quarterfinals of the Division III playoffs. The Sea Gulls recorded their fifth undefeated regular season and sixth quarterfinal appearance. Wood, the all-time wins leader at Salisbury, has a record of 193-80 with the Sea Gulls and an overall record of 214-119-1 when you include his six seasons at Bowie State.
The current balloting procedure involves the selection of 25 regional winners: five regional winners in each of the five divisions – FBS, FCS, Division II, Division III, and NAIA, who become finalists for national coach of the year. Following regional voting, five national winners – one from each division – are chosen.
Salisbury University is a proud member of NCAA Division III with primary membership in the Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference, along with affiliate membership in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (football, men's & women's swimming) and the Coastal Lacrosse Conference (men's lacrosse). With over 500 student-athletes in 23 varsity sports, SU is recognized as one of the nation's most competitive intercollegiate athletics programs regardless of division, featuring dedicated coaches and staff that foster excellence on and off the field. The Sea Gulls have won a combined 23 team national championships, 24 individual national championships, and 201 conference championships, and have produced 50 Academic All-Americans.
To Make Tomorrow Yours at Salisbury University, and learn more about Sea Gull Athletics' tradition of excellence, visit www.SUSeaGulls.com or follow on social media @SUSeaGulls.
