In keeping with University policy, further details on the contract will not be disclosed. The extension will keep Keeler as head coach of the Blue Hens through the 2017 season.
“K.C. is one of the nation's finest young coaches and we are pleased to be able to reward him with a contract that will keep him on the sidelines with the Blue Hens for many years to come,” said Johnson in making the announcement. “He has continued the winning tradition of University of Delaware football and kept the Blue Hens among the elite not only in the Colonial Athletic Association but nationally in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. His energy and enthusiasm for the program is contagious and his positive relationships with his coaches, players, fans, the community, and alumni have continued to move the University forward. We are excited to see what the next decade will bring through his leadership of our football program.”
“K.C. Keeler's skills and leadership are matched by his commitment to our athletics program and our scholar-athletes,” UD President Patrick Harker said. “I look forward to being able to rely on Coach Keeler's enthusiasm and ability as the University moves forward on its Path to Prominence, which recognizes the importance of athletics as part of an engaged student body.”
A 1980 graduate of the University of Delaware and a starting linebacker on the 1979 squad that captured the NCAA Division II title under head coach Tubby Raymond, Keeler built a national power at NCAA Division III at Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J. and has continued those winning ways back at his alma mater.
Since succeeding Raymond prior to the 2002 season, Keeler has led the Blue Hens to an overall record of 52-26 over six seasons, the 2003 national title, the 2007 national runner-up spot, three NCAA Tournament appearances, and two conference titles. Delaware has also earned the Lambert Cup Trophy and Eastern College Athletic Conference Team of the Year Award, symbolic of Eastern college football, twice. Keeler became the first coach to earn the prestigious Maxwell Football Club Tri-State Coach of the Year Award twice when he was honored in Atlantic City, N.J. in February. He also received the Johnny Vaught Award presented by the All-American Football Foundation for outstanding coaching performance in March.
This past season was one of the finest in school history. After posting an 8-3 record during the regular season and becoming one of five Colonial Athletic Association schools to advance to the NCAA Tournament, the Blue Hens caught fire in the post season.
After defeating in-state rival Delaware State 44-7 in a historic first round game, Delaware hit the road and posted a 39-27 victory over top-seed and previously undefeated Northern Iowa in the quarterfinals and a 20-17 victory over No. 3 seed Southern Illinois in the semifinals. Delaware's season finally came to an end in a 49-21 setback to three-time defending champion Appalachian State in the national title game.
A native of Emmaus, Pa., Keeler was a starting linebacker for the Blue Hens, was a member of the 1979 national championship squad, and had a tryout with the National Football League's Philadelphia Eagles. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Amherst College before serving as an assistant for seven years at Rowan University.
He became head coach at Rowan in 1993 and built that program into a national power, leading the Profs to the NCAA Division I title game five times, to the national playoffs seven times, and to the New Jersey Athletic Conference title four times in just nine seasons. His overall college coaching record in 15 seasons stands at 140-47-1, ranking among the national active leaders with a winning percentage of 74.7 percent.
His teams have won 10 or more games in a season nine times in 15 seasons and his record in NCAA post-season action stands at an incredible 29-9, including a mark of 8-2 at Delaware. In his 15 seasons as a head coach, his teams have played in the national championship game seven times. At Delaware Stadium, where Delaware has averaged over 20,000 fans per game each of the past nine seasons to lead all NCAA FCS Division I programs, his overall record is 34-9 (.791) as a head coach.
Keeler has coached 17 All-American while at Delaware, including quarterback Joe Flacco, who earned CAA and ECAC Player of the Year honors in 2007 and became the first Blue Hen player to be drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft in April when he was selected by the Baltimore Ravens with the 18th overall pick
For more information on UD athletics, see [www.udel.edu/sportsinfo].
