After more than three decades as a football coach at Ithaca College, Mike Welch ’73 will retire this spring. Welch completed 23 seasons at the helm of Bomber football, during which he led the program to eight Empire 8 conference championships, eight appearances in the NCAA championship, and four ECAC bowl games. Under his guidance, the program advanced to the NCAA semifinals once and the quarterfinals three times. In 2014, Welch served as the president of the American Football Coaches Association. He was inducted into the Ithaca College Athletic Hall of Fame in September 2015.