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| A former player at Hobart, Nate Milne has spent the past three years on staff at Muhlenberg. Muhlenberg athletics photo |
After three years as offensive coordinator, Nate Milne was named head coach of the Muhlenberg football team.
Milne succeeds Mike Donnelly, who coached the team for more than 20 years before his death in October. Corey Goff, Muhlenberg's athletic director, served as acting head coach for the 2017 season, which ended on Saturday with a 32-6 win against Carnegie Mellon.
"I'm humbled and honored to be the head football coach at Muhlenberg College," said Milne. "Muhlenberg College is a special institution and it's special because of the people who work and learn here. That starts at the top with the leadership from president John Williams, vice president of student affairs Allison Gulati and director of athletics Corey Goff. I'd like to thank them for the opportunity to lead the Muhlenberg College football program.
"Muhlenberg College offers everything that I was looking for when coming out of high school; world-class academic programs and a football program that wants to compete for championships. When our staff hits the road recruiting, I know we are offering a terrific experience for potential student-athletes."
In Milne's first three seasons as offensive coordinator and offensive line coach, the Mules compiled a record of 25-8, averaging 33.3 points and 428.0 yards per game. The 2016 team featured the most prolific offense in program history, setting school records for yards and points in a season and ranking 17th in Division III in scoring.
Despite graduating most of the playmakers from that unit and losing its top running back to injury early in the season, the 2017 offense continued to put up big numbers, averaging 32.1 points per game with freshmen and sophomores filling many key roles.
"One of the things I am most excited about is to continue to work with our current student-athletes," said Milne. "The 2017 season ended with a ton of momentum and I know the future of the program is filled with talented student-athletes."
Among the players Milne has coached at Muhlenberg are the 2015 Centennial Conference scholar-athlete of the year, the 2016 CC offensive player of the year and the 2016 ECAC offensive lineman of the year.
Milne is the seventh Donnelly assistant to become a Division III head coach. "Maybe more than anything I am grateful to be a member of the Coach Donnelly coaching tree and continue to coach at Muhlenberg with the work ethic he instilled in the program and all of the coaches who worked with him during his tenure," he said.
Milne came to Muhlenberg in 2015 with more than 15 years playing and coaching football at the Division III level. For the previous seven years, he was offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Susquehanna, where he coached a first-team all-conference player at every position. Susquehanna won the Liberty League championship and competed in the NCAA playoffs in 2009.
Prior to working at Susquehanna, Milne was an assistant coach for three years at Cortland, where he coached five All–New Jersey Athletic Conference offensive linemen and one All–NJAC running back during his tenure.
In 2007, Milne was a guest coach with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League and spent their preseason working as an assistant offensive line coach. He also spent one year as an assistant coach at Division III Hamilton, focusing on tight ends and offensive scouting.
A 2003 graduate of Hobart with a bachelor's degree in history, Milne was a four-year letterwinner with the Statesmen, earning first-team All–Liberty League honors twice and playing on Hobart's first two Division III playoff teams.
The 36-year-old Milne lives in Allentown with his wife, Kristen, and sons Matthew (4) and Nicholas (19 months).