Tom Craft Selected as 2019 ACCFCA Coach of the Year
Head Football Coach Tom Craft was recently named the 2019 American Community College Football Coaches Association (ACCFCA) Coach of the Year. The award will be presented to Craft during the 2019 ACCFCA awards ceremony on Tuesday, January 14 at the 2020 AFCA Convention in Nashville, Tennessee.
Craft's already prestigious standing in the coaching world is heavily bolstered by adding this accomplishment to his stacked resume. This is his second individual honor of the year after being named the Southern California Football Coaches (SCFA) Coach of the Year. It is his first time receiving this National recognition.
Craft earned this honor after leading the undefeated Tigers (13-0) to its first State & National Championship in 30 years. They reached the state title game with a commanding victory over the College of the Canyons Cougars, 68-21, to haul in the SCFA Southern Regional Championship. The victory punched Riverside's ticket to the big dance where they defeated the College of San Mateo Bulldogs, 31-14.
Craft capped his 10th season at RCC this past year and surpassed the century mark in victories. He currently holds a 102-15 record marking the second time he has won over 100 games at a community college. He accomplished this feat at Palomar College from 1983-93 and again from 1998-2001. He won a total of 115 games.
Over the past three years, Craft has coached on California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) Offensive Player of the Year (Vic Viramontes '17), two SCFA Southern Offensive Players of the Year (Vic Viramontes '17, Stone Smartt '18) and two SCFA Southern Defensive Players of the Year (Nick Figueroa '18, Kobey Fitzgerald '19).