FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wilkins Calls It a Career After 26 Years at the Helm.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - American International head football coach Art Wilkins announced his retirement from the position, effective immediately on Wednesday, December 11, marking the end of a record-setting 26-year career.
"A parade of players, coaches, and faculty march past one's mind as one considers twenty-six years of service," said Wilkins. "Rarely does a coach have enough years to survey whether or not the values imbued have taken fruit. In the last several years I have had the opportunity to see past players during alumni functions. The AIC football motto has been to 'become champions on the field and champions in life.' I can now attest that our players have become champions in their lives and the heroes of their children's lives. I want to thank both the coaches and faculty who have struggled to transform twenty-six years of players into the people that they have become and are still becoming. People make the difference in life. I am grateful."
"I have thoroughly enjoyed working with Art Wilkins in my various roles throughout the athletic department over the past 14 years at AIC," said Matt Johnson, AIC Director of Athletics. "Art is a great football coach and, more importantly, he's an even better person. AIC has been a much better place because of Art's presence over the past 26 years and we are all going to miss him. I'd like to wish Art and his family extended health and happiness as he embarks upon this new journey in the coming months."
Wilkins was hired in time for the 1994 season, and helped the program to unparalleled success over his time at the helm of the program. The team won 151 of the 269 games Wilkins coached, far and away the most wins in program history, including a mark of 129-72 in Eastern Football Conference and Northeast-10 Conference play that included five conference championships and the first two NCAA Division II Tournament appearances in program history. The 129 NE10 wins is the conference's record, and Wilkins is one of just three coaches to reach triple-digit wins in league history.
The early stages of Wilkins' career at AIC saw a program that rose quickly to the top of the then-EFC, as the Yellow Jackets won their division for the first of four straight years in 1997, capturing conference titles in 1999 and 2000. Among the stars of the era were a total of four players who earned five All-American selections, including two-time All-American and Harlon Hill Trophy runner-up Kavin Gailliard.
As the new millennium arrived, Wilkins' success did not slow. The team won its first NE10 title as such in 2008, going 8-0 in conference play and claiming the program's first-ever berth in the NCAA Tournament on the strength of 13 All-NE10 selections, including NE10 MVP Travis Poole at wide receiver and Defensive Lineman of the Year Jean Simeon. The team repeated five years later during the 2013 season, besting Stonehill to win the conference title and advance to the NCAA Tournament for a second time.
Fittingly, Wilkins' final season was the 150th in the history of college football, and he earned his 150th career win on homecoming, a 34-12 victory against Franklin Pierce.
All told, Wilkins coached players to 23 major conference awards, with four EFC/NE10 MVPs, two Offensive Players of the Year, two Defensive Players of the Year, four Defensive Linemen of the Year, five Offensive Linemen of the Year, and six Rookie of the Year winners. A total of 111 players earned a combined 147 All-Conference accolades under Wilkins' tutelage, and Wilkins himself was honored as NE10 Coach of the Year in both 2008 and 2013.
Associate Head Coach Kris Kulzer will serve as interim head coach while a national search to fill the position is conducted.
With the announcement of @AICfootball's Art Wilkins retirement, we want to take a look at his impact at @AIConcampus.#AICommitted #NE10Embrace @NCAADII pic.twitter.com/DCoebhO7Se
— AIC Athletics (@aicathletics) December 11, 2019
-Release provided by AIC athletic communications-
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