WACO, TEX. — Benedictine Football head coach Joel Osborn was among a list of 25 coaches from across the five major levels of college football recognized by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) on Tuesday as a Regional Coach of the Year award winner.

Coach Osborn was named the AFCA-NAIA Region 3 Coach Of the Year after guiding the Ravens to a 10-1 overall record and the outright Heart South Championship this fall. He was joined on the NAIA list by Region 1's Mile Russ (Keiser), Region 2's Ted Karras (Marian), Region 4's Joel Penner (Dordt) and Region 5's Kyle Samson (Montana Tech). All five head coaches recognized by the AFCA on Tuesday are preparing for games in the Second Round of the NAIA Football Championship Series.

Benedictine hosts Campbellsville (Ky.) at Noon on Saturday inside Larry Wilcox Stadium in the first-ever match up between the two programs. Saturday's winner advances to the NAIA FCS Quarterfinals on campus sites across the NAIA on Dec. 6.

Indiana's Curt Cignetti and Kutztown's Jim Clements highlight today's announcement of the American Football Coaches Association's 2025 Regional Coach of the Year winners for FBS, FCS, Division II, Division III, and NAIA. These winners will be honored on Monday, January 12, during the 2026 AFCA Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The AFCA recognizes five regional Coach of the Year winners in each of the Association's five divisions: Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III, and NAIA. The winners are selected by Active members of the Association who vote for coaches in their respective regions and divisions. 

This is the first AFCA-NAIA Region Coach of the Year honor for Coach Osborn, who has guided Benedictine to an overall record of 48-13 since taking over the program in January of 2021. The program's Heart South title was the fourth under Coach Osborn.

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