It's unanimous.  UW-Whitewater head football coach Lance Leipold has added national Division III coach of the Year honors from the American Football Coaches Association, the Fieldturf company, and American Football Monthly magazine.  Leipold had previously been named D3football.com Coach of the Year, giving the fourth year head coach a sweep of the 2010 awards.

Leipold directed UW-W to a 15-0 record and the NCAA III championship, the school's third in the four years Leipold has served as the head coach.  Leipold extended the Warhawks' string of Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships, NCAA III playoff berths, and NCAA III championship game appearances to six straight.  In addition to the national titles in 2007, 2009 and 2010 under Leipold's guidance, Whitewater also advanced to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl in 2008.

The 2010 season marked just the ninth time in school history that the UW-Whitewater football team has finished undefeated.  That accomplishment takes on added significance considering 119 years of intercollegiate football at the school and just two seasons, 2009 and 2010, have seen double digit wins without a loss.

Success on the field keyed multiple all-America honors for offensive guard Matt Weber (Oregon/Oregon), offensive tackle Robbie Ustruck (West Allis/Hale), center Mark Gawronski (New Berlin/Eisenhower), defensive tackle Wesley Hicks (Milwaukee/Vincent), linebacker Lane Olson (Racine/Horlick), and running back Levell Coppage (Oak Park, IL/Oak Park).  Coppage added WIAC MVP honors and was named the Offensive Player of the Year by D3football.com.   The 2010 Warhawks added off the field honors too, with Jared Kiesow (Horicon/Horicon) earning the NCAA's Elite 88 Award for the top cumulative grade point at the Stagg Bowl, and senior wide receiver Aaron Rusch (Hartford/Hartford) was named the WIAC Max Sparger Scholar Athlete for football, earned second team Academic All-America honors, and was a finalist for the Gagliardi Trophy for the outstanding student athlete in Division III football.

Leipold's four year numbers at UW-W are 57-3 overall (.950) and 27-1 in the WIAC (.964).  The 2010 Warhawks extended Whitewater's NCAA best, any division, win streak to 29 consecutive wins.  The Warhawks have also won 21 in a row at home, 17 in a row in the WIAC, 17 in a row against non-conference competition, and ten straight in the NCAA III playoffs.

The AFCA Coach of the Year honor is bestowed by a vote of Division III coaches at the AFCA convention, which concludes today.  The Fieldturf award is compiled by company representatives and is presented by Howie Long, and the American Football Monthly staff picks its award recipients.

Leipold has earned the AFCA Division III Coach of the Year Award and the Fieldturf Division III Coach of the Year honor three times (2007, 2009, 2010), and the D3football.com award all four years he has been at Whitewater.

For additional information:  Lance Leipold