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 Jim Collins
Alma Mater: Wittenberg '87 | Overall Record: 120-138 (26 Years) | Record at Wittenberg: 5-5, 4-4 NCAC (1 Year)
Jim Collins, a 1988 alumnus and former Tiger football wide receiver, enters his second season at the helm of Wittenberg football in 2023. Collins joined the Tigers in December 2021 after serving as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Dayton (UD).
Wittenberg went 5-5 overall and 4-4 in the NCAC in the 2022 season.
Collins holds an impressive resume spanning 30 years of coaching success. Prior to his post at UD, he served as the director of player personnel at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point (2019), which followed 11 years at Saginaw Valley State (2008-2019) where he served as the head coach. In that time, Collins led his team to three straight Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference North Division Championships from 2011-2013, as well as three NCAA Division II playoff appearances (2009, 2011, 2013). Collins' teams also ranked in the final National Poll twice (2009, 2013) and final Regional Poll six times (2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2018).
Additionally, from 1997-2007, Collins served as the head coach at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio, where he was named Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Coach of the Year on three separate occasions (2001, 2003, 2006). While there, Collins led his team to three NCAA Division III Playoff Appearances (2005, 2006, 2007), and his team was ranked in the final National Poll three times (#3 in 2006, #5 in 2005, #13 in 2007). During Collins' tenure at Capital, his teams had a perfect 5-0 record against Wittenberg, including a 54-0 win in Springfield. In 2006, Collins led Capital to two wins over Wittenberg, including a victory in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Early in his career, Collins was the head coach, offensive coordinator, and quarterbacks coach for the University of Dubuque (1994-1996). He then served as offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach, and wide receivers coach at Illinois Wesleyan (1991-1993), where he helped lead the Titans to the 1992 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin title and an NCAA Division III Playoff berth.
As a student-athlete at Wittenberg, Collins, who hails from Cincinnati, was named captain and Team MVP his senior year. In 1985, he earned the team's Most Improved Offensive Player of the Year. He ranked second in program history for all-time career receptions in 1987 with 116, and he was a three-time All-OAC selection.
Collins, who has been a member of the American Football Coaches Association since 1991, serving on the Rules Committee and All-American Committee, received his bachelor's degree in business administration from Wittenberg and his master's degree in athletic administration from Central Michigan University. He is married to Brooke Bevilacqua Collins, Wittenberg class of 1988, and together they have three grown children, Zachary, Ryan, and Brady.
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