A New Hampton graduate is the 2022 NCAA Division III Football Coach of the Year.
Chris Winter was named D3 National Coach of the year Saturday after leading Wartburg College to their best season in school history. The Knights advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Division III playoffs for the first time ever, but lost at Mount Union of Ohio on December 10th, as the Purple Raiders scored the go-ahead touchdown with 31 seconds left to play in the game.
The loss ended a perfect season for the Knights, who were 13-0 going into the matchup. This past weekend, Winter, a New Hampton High School Class of 2000 grad, was named Coach of the Year in just his second season at the helm.
Last week, he issued a Thank You to fans for their support through the Wartburg Knights Facebook page.
Despite the loss to Mount Union, which has won 13 national championships, Wartburg finished as the number 3 team in the country in the final D3 football rankings.
Mount Union lost in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl title game Friday night to North Central of Illinois 28-21 as the Cardinals completed a 15-0 season.
