Aaron Kelton
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Savannah State |
| Conference | SIAC |
| Record | 12–18 |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | c. 1970 (age 53–54) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1988–1991 | Springfield |
| Position(s) | Quarterback |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1992 | Wellesley HS (MA) (assistant) |
| 1993–1996 | Wayland HS (MA) (assistant) |
| 1997 | MIT (assistant) |
| 1998 | Clarion (assistant) |
| 1999–2000 | Concord (DC) |
| 2001 | Virginia State (DB) |
| 2002–2005 | Virginia State (DC) |
| 2006–2007 | Columbia (DB) |
| 2008–2009 | Columbia (DC) |
| 2010–2015 | Williams |
| 2016–2017 | Shorter |
| 2018 | Morgan State (co-DC / CB) |
| 2019 | Howard (director of football operations) |
| 2019 | Howard (interim HC) |
| 2020–2021 | Howard (CB) |
| 2022–present | Savannah State |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 2017 | Shorter (interim AD) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 36–67 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1 NESCAC (2010) | |
| Awards | |
| NESCAC COY (2010) | |
Aaron Kelton (born c. 1970) is an American college football coach. He is the head football coach for Savannah State University, a position he has held since 2022. Kelton served as the head football coach at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts from 2010 to 2015 and Shorter University in Rome, Georgia from 2016 to 2017. He was also the interim head football coach at Howard University in Washington, D.C. for the final three games of the 2019 season.
Early years
A native of Boston, Kelton attended Wellesley High School, where he played football, baseball, and basketball.[1] He then attended Springfield College, from which he graduated in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology. While there, he earned a varsity letter in football all four years and spent two as the starting quarterback.[2]
Coaching career
From 1992 through 1996, Kelton coached high school football in Massachusetts. His first college football coaching position was in 1997, with MIT. He spent a year each at Clarion and Concord, then was with Virginia State from 2001 through 2005, serving all but his first year there as defensive coordinator.
Kelton served as the secondary coach at Columbia for 2006 and 2007, and was then promoted to defensive coordinator for 2008 and 2009.[2]
Williams
In May 2010, Williams College hired Kelton as head coach of the Ephs football team to replace Mike Whalen, who resigned to return to his alma mater, Wesleyan University.[3] With the hiring, Kelton became the first black varsity head coach at Williams College and the seventh black head football coach at the NCAA Division III level.[4] In 2010, Kelton guided the Ephs to an 8–0 record and the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) championship, and became the first Williams College football coach to go undefeated in his debut season.[5] For the performance, he was named the 2010 NESCAC Coach of the Year.[6] Kelton resigned his position after the 2015 season after only going 1–5 against archrival Amherst College.[7]
Shorter
Kelton was head coach of the Shorter Hawks in 2016 and 2017, with the team going winless during those two seasons.[8] He also served as Shorter's interim athletic director during 2017.[9]
Morgan State
Kelton spent the 2018 season as co-defensive coordinator for the Morgan State Bears.[10]
Howard
In July 2019, Kelton joined Howard University as the director of football operations.[11] In November 2019, Kelton became the interim head coach for the Howard Bison when first-year head coach Ron Prince was placed on administrative leave.[12]
Head coaching record
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Williams Ephs (New England Small College Athletic Conference) (2010–2015) | |||||||||
| 2010 | Williams | 8–0 | 8–0 | 1st | |||||
| 2011 | Williams | 5–3 | 5–3 | 3rd | |||||
| 2012 | Williams | 4–4 | 4–4 | 6th | |||||
| 2013 | Williams | 2–6 | 2–6 | 8th | |||||
| 2014 | Williams | 2–6 | 2–6 | T–7th | |||||
| 2015 | Williams | 2–6 | 2–6 | T–6th | |||||
| Williams: | 23–25 | 23–25 | |||||||
| Shorter Hawks (Gulf South Conference) (2016–2017) | |||||||||
| 2016 | Shorter | 0–11 | 0–8 | 9th | |||||
| 2017 | Shorter | 0–11 | 0–8 | 9th | |||||
| Shorter: | 0–22 | 0–16 | |||||||
| Howard Bison (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) (2019–present) | |||||||||
| 2019 | Howard | 1–2[n 1] | 1–2[n 1] | T–7th | |||||
| Howard: | 1–2 | 1–2 | |||||||
| Savannah State Tigers (Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (2022–present) | |||||||||
| 2022 | Savannah State | 5–5 | 3–4 | 5th (East) | |||||
| 2023 | Savannah State | 2–8 | 1–7 | T–11th | |||||
| 2024 | Savannah State | 5–5 | 4–4 | T–6th | |||||
| Savannah State: | 12–18 | 8–15 | |||||||
| Total: | 36–67 | ||||||||
| National championship Conference title Conference division title or championship game berth | |||||||||
Notes
- ^ a b Ron Prince served as Howard's head coach for the first nine games of the 2019 season before he was placed on administrative leave. Kelton was appointed interim head coach for the final three games. Howard finished the year with an overall record of 2–10 and a mark of 2–6 in conference play.
References
- ^ Aaron Kelton Archived September 29, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Columbia University, retrieved December 1, 2010.
- ^ a b Springfield College Grad Aaron Kelton '92 Named Head Football Coach at Williams Archived May 27, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, Springfield College, May 19, 2010.
- ^ Aaron Kelton named head football coach, Williams College, May 17, 2010.
- ^ Kelton's work comes to a head, Boston Globe, September 25, 2010.
- ^ Ephs wrap up perfect season, Boston Globe, November 14, 2010.
- ^ NESCAC Players and Coaches of the Year, Williams College, retrieved December 3, 2010.
- ^ "Aaron Kelton to Step Down as Williams College's Head Football Coach - Williams". ephsports.williams.edu. Archived from the original on December 19, 2015.
- ^ "SHORTER UNIVERSITY FIRES HEAD FOOTBALL COACH/AD". Coosa Valley News. November 29, 2017. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
- ^ Tolbert, Dawn (January 6, 2017). "Kelton named Interim Athletic Director". goshorterhawks.com (Press release). Retrieved November 13, 2019.
- ^ "2018 MSU Football Season Preview". morganstatebears.com. July 30, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
- ^ "Aaron Kelton". hubison.com. 2019. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
- ^ VanHaaren, Tom (November 6, 2019). "Howard places coach Ron Prince on leave amid ongoing investigation". ESPN. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
Further reading
- Herman, Howard (October 6, 2018). "Designated Hitter: Kelton enjoying life at Morgan State". The Berkshire Eagle. Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Retrieved November 13, 2019.