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| Tom Arth led John Carroll to the program's only two national semifinal appearances, first as a quarterback and then as head coach. Photo by Steve Frommell, d3photography.com |
Tom Arth has been named the new head coach at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
Arth, the 2016 D3football.com Coach of the Year, spent seven years coaching at his alma mater, the past four as head coach. He led the Blue Streaks to three playoff appearances in those four seasons, including the program's deepest run this year.
The Blue Streaks advanced to the semifinals for the first time since 2002, when Arth was the team's quarterback. He earned D3football.com All-America honors in 2001 and 2002. After graduating from JCU, Arth spent three seasons backing up Peyton Manning on the Indianapolis Colts. According to multiple reports, Arth's connection to Manning, a Tennessee legend who is well connected to coaches and administrator's throughout the state, helped play a role in his hiring.
Arth follows in the footsteps of Erik Raeburn and K.C. Keeler, former Division III coaches who made the leap directly to FCS head coaching gigs. Raeburn left Wabash last year to take the head role at Savannah State.
The UTC job opened up when Mocs head coach Russ Huesman left for another FCS head coaching job, at Richmond. Huesman lifted the program to seven winning seasons and three playoff appearances. He took over a program that had gone 1-11 the season before he arrived at his alma mater. He was a three-time Southern Conference Coach of the Year.
Arth led the Blue Streaks to the program's first OAC title since 1994 and first outright conference championship since 1989. His team defeated Mount Union in Alliance to snap the Purple Raiders' 112-game regular season winning streak. The Blue Streaks then defeated Olivet, Wesley, and UW-Whitewater in the postseason before falling, 10-3, to UW-Oshkosh.
"Tom has brought our football program to unprecedented levels of success, in his roles as a player and a coach," said Laurie Massa, athletic director at John Carroll. "We are grateful for his commitment to excellence and to student learning on and off the field. He will always be a cherished part of John Carroll football. We wish he and his family well in Chattanooga."
He leaves the program with a 40-8 career record as head coach. He was the OAC Co-Coach of the Year in 2013 and won the award outright this season. He was D3football.com's North Region Coach of the Year in 2013 and 2016, and was recently named the 2016 national Coach of the Year.
Huesman took both of his coordinators and other assistants with him to Richmond. It is unclear who, if anyone, Arth will bring with him to UTC from JCU. If he mimics Lance Leipold, who took most of his UW-Whitewater staff with him to Division I FBS Buffalo following the 2014 season, then the coaching search at JCU will be wide open. If not, the frontrunner for the job will likely be defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, whose defense was among the nation's best this season.