Frostburg State University Athletics

DeLane Fitzgerald enters his fifth season at the helm of the Frostburg football team entering 2018 and he is tied for the third most wins in the 57-year history of the program. He needs just four victories in the ’18 campaign to set the program record for wins.
 
Under his guidance, the Bobcats have increased their win total in each of his four seasons at the helm and have lost just three times over the last two years. Fitzgerald boasts an overall four-year record of 31-13 at Frostburg, including a 23-12 slate in conference play between the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) and Empire 8.
 
The last two years have been nothing short of impressive for Fitzgerald’s Bobcats as they have won 10 games at Bobcat Stadium, tied a school record with 13-straight wins and have captured the Regents Cup Trophy twice.
 
The Bobcats made back-to-back postseason appearances in 2016 and 2017 and have combined for 21 wins and just three losses during that time. The Bobcats have also totaled 31 All-NJAC selections, seven All-East Region honorees and four All-American awards over the last two years.
 
Frostburg made just its second-ever NCAA Playoff appearance last fall and advanced to the national quarterfinals for the first time in program history since the tournament expanded to 32 teams. Frostburg spent the entire season ranked inside both major Top 25 polls and it finished the season ranked ninth in both the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Coaches and D3football.com polls.
 
The Bobcats captured a program record 11 wins (11-2) that included NCAA Playoff victories over No. 9 Wittenberg (35-7) and No. 10 Washington & Jefferson (46-23). Frostburg captured second in the NJAC standings (8-1), scored a school record 468 points and tied a school record with 13-straight wins that started in the 2016 season.
 
Frostburg's season came to a close with a loss at No. 2 and eventual national champion Mount Union. Frostburg's 37 points scored are the most at Mount Union Stadium since the NCAA Playoff semifinals in 2013.
 
Frostburg posted some of Division III's most impressive statistical numbers as it finished the season ranked sixth nationally in third-down conversion defense (.253), eighth in time of possession (33:57), 10th in first downs (276), 13th in rushing defense (82.2) and 16th in total defense (265.6).
 
The 2016 team concluded the season with nine-straight wins and a 10-1 overall record. At the time, it was just the second Bobcat team to record 10 wins in a season and the first team since 1990 to win nine straight.
 
The Bobcats captured a share of the NJAC Title after finishing 8-1 in the league that featured a 21-17 win over in-state rival Salisbury in the Regents Cup. Fitzgerald was named the NJAC Coach of the Year.
 
Frostburg earned a spot in the Eastern College Athletic Conference’s (ECAC) Asa S. Bushnell Bowl Game against 22nd-ranked St. John Fisher on November 19, 2016 at historic Franklin Field. The 24th-ranked Bobcats dominated the contest, earning a 38-14 victory and limiting St. John Fisher to -26 yards on the ground.
 
Frostburg ended the year ranked in a pair of Top 25 polls, finishing at No. 23 in the D3football.com Top 25 poll and No. 24 in the AFCA poll.
 
The Bobcats finished the year as the national leader in team tackles for loss (10.7). They also finished sixth in the country in scoring defense (12.9), seventh in team sacks (3.73), eighth in team passing efficiency defense (93.69) and ninth in total defense (240.6). FSU was ranked 11th in the country and paced the NJAC with six blocked kicks.
 
Fitzgerald continued the upward trend of his program in 2015 after he led his Bobcats to a 6-4 overall record last fall, including a 5-4 mark in their first year in the New Jersey Athletic Conference. The six wins mark the most for Frostburg in a season since 2005 and the five-game winning streak during the middle part of the season is the longest for the program since the 1999 team started 6-0.
 
Fitzgerald’s emphasis on special teams was once again a strong point for the Bobcats as they finished 11th in the nation in punt returns (15.63), 15th in kickoff return defense (14.95), 18th in the nation in blocked kicks (6), 40th in net punting (34.41) and 58th in blocked punts.
 
Frostburg was also 40th in the country in total defense (313.4) and 51st in completion percentage behind a school record 61.1 percent.
 
FSU totaled nine All-NJAC honorees, including the league’s Special Teams and Rookie of the Year awards. Frostburg also collected numerous D3football.com All-Region and ECAC All-Star honors.
 
FSU totaled nine All-NJAC honorees, including the league’s Special Teams and Rookie of the Year awards. Frostburg also collected numerous D3football.com All-Region and ECAC All-Star honors.
 
In his first season, Fitzgerald led the Bobcats to a 4-6 overall record, the most wins since 2011. Frostburg finished 2-6 in its final season as a member of the Empire 8 Athletic Conference that included a 38-37 double overtime upset of 25th-ranked Ithaca at Bobcat Stadium on Homecoming.
 
Frostburg didn’t just improve in the win/loss column in Fitzgerald’s first season, but statically all over the field. The Bobcats finished fifth in the Empire 8 in scoring defense (27.3) and fifth in total defense (359.6). When compared to the final statistics of the 2013 season, the Bobcats allowed 66 fewer first downs, improved their overall total defense by 104.3 yards per contest, allowed 57.3 fewer yards rushing per game and cut opponents' scoring by 17.4 points per game. Frostburg also led the Empire 8 and finished 12th in the nation for fewest turnovers with 12.
 
Fitzgerald also placed an emphasis on blocked kicks where the Bobcats finished 17th in the country and led the Empire 8 with six.
 
The Bobcats capped the season with four All-Empire 8 selections, three on defense, and a USA College Football All-American.
 
Fitzgerald was a speaker for the ACFC in 2014 and was an AFCA Coaching Mentor in both 2014 and 2015.

Fitzgerald came to Frostburg after coaching at Southern Virginia University for eight years from 2006-2013, including the last five as the program's head coach. He was tasked with turning around the Knights that averaged just two wins per year over the program's history.
 
Fitzgerald, who had 24 wins in five seasons at the helm of Southern Virginia, helped the Knights set the single-season school record for wins twice. In 2013, he led SVU to a program-best 8-2 record behind a six-game winning streak. The Knights finished the season ranked No. 1 in the final United States Collegiate Athletic Association coaches' poll.
 
In 2012, he led the Knights to a 5-6 overall record, the third highest single-season total. As the offensive coordinator in 2007, Fitzgerald helped the team a 6-5 record, a then school record. That same season, the Knights set school marks in rushing, passing, total offense and points scored and finished seventh in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in total offense (474.3 yards per game).
 
Prior to Southern Virginia, Fitzgerald served for one season as offensive coordinator at NAIA-affiliated Bethel University (Tenn.), helping the Wildcats to a 7-4 overall record and the 2005 Mid-South Conference Western Division Championship. Fitzgerald's offense ranked fourth in the NAIA in total offense (453.8), third in rushing offense (272.8), seventh in pass efficiency rating (140.2) and 10th in third-down conversion percentage (43.1%).
 
Fitzgerald served for two years on the football staff at the University of Tennessee Martin in 2003-04 as the special teams coordinator and running backs coach. Prior to UTM, he coached at James Madison University for the 2002 season. The Dukes posted a 5-7 overall record, but laid the ground work for JMU's NCAA I-AA National Championship two seasons later.
 
Fitzgerald got his coaching start at the Bridgton Academy in North Bridgton, Maine from 2000-01, serving as the school's defensive coordinator.
 
His collegiate football playing career started at Potomac State College from 1995-96. As a sophomore, he was named Team Captain and was a Lough Award and Student-Athlete Award winner. After PSC, Fitzgerald transferred to James Madison for the 1997-1999 seasons. He helped lead JMU to an 8-4 record in '99 with a spot in the NCAA Playoffs and a share of the Atlantic 10 Championship. He was twice selected to the Academic All-Atlantic 10 team and was the John David Kraus Award Winner as a senior at JMU.
 
Fitzgerald received his bachelor's degree in kinesiology from James Madison in 1999. In 2012, he earned his master's degree in education from Bethel University.

Fitzgerald and his wife Kim have three daughters - Mattie (17), Afton (8) and Laila (6).