AFCA Release

COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's University's legendary football coach John Gagliardi was named the 2009 recipient of the American Football Coaches' Association's (AFCA) Amos Alonzo Stagg Award Wednesday, Sept. 24.

The award, which honors those “whose services have been outstanding in the advancement of the best interests of football,” will be presented to Gagliardi at the AFCA Awards Luncheon on January 13 during the 2009 AFCA Convention in Nashville, Tenn. Previous winners include Paul “Bear” Bryant (1983), Woody Hayes (1986) and Joe Paterno (2002). The late Bill Walsh received the award posthumously last year.

Gagliardi broke former Grambling State head coach Eddie Robinson's NCAA record for the most games coached (588) Sept. 20 against Concordia College-Moorhead in Collegeville. Gagliardi's 60 years of collegiate coaching is the most in college football history, surpassing the prior record of 57 years held by Stagg.

The first active head coach to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame (Class of 2006) and the 2007 Liberty Mutual Division III Coach of the Year, Gagliardi (Guh-lahr-dee) currently owns a 455-123-11 (.782) career record and a 431-117-10 (.782) record at SJU. Gagliardi tied the all-time collegiate win record, held by Robinson, on Nov. 1, 2003, and broke the all-time record Nov. 8, 2003, on the way to a perfect 14-0 season and an NCAA Division III championship.

While at Saint John's, Gagliardi has coached four national championship teams (1963, 1965, 1976 and 2003) and made the 2000 national title game. His also reached the national semifinals in 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 2001 and 2002. As a collegiate coach, Gagliardi's teams have won 28 conference titles, including 2005 and 2006, and have appeared in 56 post-season games. In the past 41 years, SJU has been nationally ranked 40 times, and it owns a 39-17 postseason record. In 1993, SJU averaged 61.5 points per game, setting a record that may never be broken.

In addition to his various head coaching duties, Gagliardi has also been athletic director at both Carroll (1949-53) and Saint John's (1976-94). In June 2006, Gagliardi was inducted into the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Hall of Fame.

In 1993, Josten's and the SJU J-Club unveiled the Gagliardi Trophy that goes to the nation's outstanding Division III player.

SJU (2-1, 0-1 MIAC) hosts Gustavus Adolphus for Homecoming Saturday, Sept. 27. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Clemens Stadium in Collegeville. The Johnnies are 62-16-2 (.788) in 80 known Homecoming games going back to 1924, including a 46-9 record (.836) under Gagliardi.