Ithaca College football head coach Mike Welch ’73 completed his one-year term as president of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) for 2014, and one of the top priorities for the association was increasing education about prevention and care of concussions in football. Welch’s final duties included presiding over the AFCA national convention in Louisville, Kentucky, in January. He was just the eighth coach from a Division III program to hold the prestigious office. 

During Welch’s administration of the national organization, whose membership includes approximately 12,000 coaches at all levels of football, concussion education was emphasized in a partnership with USA Football and Pop Warner Football. Other topics discussed at the convention included spring practice rules and game scheduling for the regular season. Joined by family, staff members, and other professional associates, Welch was honored at the convention for his service to the organization. He also hosted a president’s address for the organization and also moderated the annual awards ceremony.

Welch has been at the helm of the Ithaca College football program since 1994 and has seen the Bombers through some of the program’s best years. He became the head coach at Ithaca after Jim Butterfield and led the team to seven Empire 8 conference titles.

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