KU Assistant Football Coach Selected by the NCAA
Jan. 13, 2005
LAWRENCE, Kan. — Second-year University of Kansas assistant football coach Earnest Collins recently participated in the second annual Advanced Coaching Program sponsored by the NCAA. The Advanced Coaching Program is phase one of the NCAA’s Coaches Academy, which began in January 2004 and is one of the NCAA’s initiatives to address the critical shortage of ethnic minorities in head coaching positions in the sport of college football.
“We are very proud of Earnest and his contributions to our program,” said KU head coach Mark Mangino. “He is definitely a rising star in the coaching profession. His selection to be a part of the A.C.P. is a reflection of his talent and hard work.”
Collins, who coaches the Jayhawk cornerbacks, joined the Kansas staff in 2003. Last season, Collins directed the efforts of sophomore cornerback Charles Gordon who led the nation with seven interceptions and was named third-team All-America by the Associated Press — KU’s first All-America selection since 1995.
The mission of the NCAA Coaches Academy is to assist ethnic minority football coaches with career advancement through skills enhancement, networking and exposure opportunities and to raise awareness regarding the substantial pool of talented ethnic-minority coaches. The program is designed to teach and reinforce various aspects of securing, managing and excelling in head coaching positions at the Division I-A level.
“The Advanced Coaching Program is very valuable to many up-and-coming coaches who are unaccustomed to being in front of cameras or are not used to the interview process,” said Collins. “We also talked alot about interviewing potential coaches when we’re trying to build a staff. It’s a very valuable program that I would recommend to any coach.”
This year’s program was held January 7-9, at the Seelbach Hotel in Louisville, Ky. Workshop topics centered on communication skills, fiscal responsibility, building a successful program, marketing and fundraising, moral/ethical considerations, academic issues and health and safety concerns.
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