Columbia’s Bagnoli wins regional coaching honor
Some coaches just can’t stay retired. In the case of Columbia’s Al Bagnoli, his departure from coaching lasted all of three months.
Bagnoli led Penn to nine Ivy League titles in his 23 seasons with the Quakers. But shortly after the 2014 season that he said would be his last, Bagnoli accepted a new challenge and took the reins at the downtrodden Columbia program.
Now in his third season in the Big Apple, Bagnoli led the Lions to an 8-2 overall record and a 5-2 Ivy League mark. The second-place finish was the best for the Lions since 1996.
As a result, Bagnoli is the nominee from his region for AFCA Coach of the Year honors. It is the fourth regional award of his career.
Such honors tend to go to coaches whose teams exceed expectations. But that isn’t always the case. Reigning FCS coach of the year winner John Grass of Jacksonville State is the nominee for his region for a fourth consecutive season. He directed the Gamecocks to another perfect run through the Ohio Valley Conference, claiming the league title for the fourth year in a row.
The other FCS nominees are first- time regional winners. Brian Bohannon of Kennesaw State and Mike London of Howard are co-nominees from their region. Bohannon led the Owls to the Big South Conference title and an FCS playoff upset of Jacksonville State in the program’s third year of existence. London, the former Virginia head man in just his first year at Howard, led the Bison to their first winning season in five years, a second-place finish in the MEAC and the program’s first victory against an FBS opponent in the season opener at UNLV.
Valparaiso’s Dave Cecchini and Demario Warren of Southern Utah round out the regional FCS honorees. Cecchini was named the Pioneer League coach of the year as the Crusaders, picked 10th in the 11-team conference before the season, posted a third-place finish and a 6-5 overall record. Warren led the Thunderbirds to a share of the Big Sky title and the program’s third FCS playoff berth in five years.