Mike Drass

Mike Drass

Title: Head Coach
Phone: 302-736-2363
Email: Michael.Drass@wesley.edu
Year: 19th Head Coach/23rd at Wesley
College: Mansfield '88

Mike Drass, who also serves as the  Director of Athletics at Wesley, completed his 18th season as Wesley’s Head Football Coach leading the Wolverines to a record of 155-45-1 through the end of the 2010 season. 

During the past six seasons the Wolverines have risen to unprecedented heights.  Wesley's 70 victories in that timespan are the third most in Division III and the team has won 15 NCAA playoff games during the run, advancing to the national semifinals four times and one trip to each the quarterfinals and the second round.

Including his four years as an assistant coach before taking over the Wesley program, Drass has been on the sideline for all but one win in the program's Division III history.  He also guided the team into the inaugural Atlantic Central Football Conference in 1998, the first of nine ACFC Championships for a program that posted an .843 win percentage as a conference member.

His 2010 squad turned in its second straight undefeated regular season and earned the top overall seed in the NCAA Division III Football Championships.  The Wolverines held home seed through the national semifinals, winning the South Region Championship for the second straight year.  The postseason run came on the heels of the team's sixth consecutive ACFC Championship.  Wesley produced 21 All-ACFC selections including the conference's Offensive Player, Defensive Player, Rookie and Coach of the Year Awards.  Drass was named the D3football.com South Region Coach of the Year and 10 players earned All-South honors, including the region's Defensive Player of the Year, Chris Mayes.  Four players earned a total of six All-America honors upon the season's conclusion.  The team was also presented with the Lambert Meadowlands Award and the ECAC Division III Team of the Year Award by the ECAC, who also bestowed the Wolverines with the ECAC South Offensive an Defensive Players of the Year and five ECAC All-Star nods.

His teams have also won three of the last four Lambert-Meadowlands Trophies in Division III in recognition of Eastern supremacy in college football and has also been awarded the ECAC Division III Team of the Year Award three times in the past four years.

Drass has coached student-athletes to 120 All-America honors during his time at Wesley and coached 191 all-conference selections during the teams run in conference play.  The Wolverines have also produced four D3football.com South Region Players of the Year and six ECAC Southwest Players of the Year. 

 

By the Numbers

1 Gagliardi Trophy Winner
3 Lambert Meadowlands Trophy
3 ECAC Team of the Year Award
3 Undefeated Regular Season
4 NCAA Division III South Region Championships   
4 D3football.com South Region Players of the Year
5 Seasons of at least 10 wins
6 Consecutive NCAA Appearances
6 Consecutive ACFC Championships
6 Associated Press All-Americans
6 ECAC Bowl Appearances
7 NCAA Division III Playoff Appearances
7 Undefeated ACFC Seasons
8 ACFC Coach of the Year Awards
9 ACFC Championships
10 AFCA All-Americans
15 School Record for Wins in a season
13 School record for most wins in a season
15 NCAA Play Off Wins
20 D3football.com All-Americans
32 Football Gazette All-Americans
43 Atlantic Central Football Conference Victories
68 ECAC All-Stars
155 Career Wins
191 All-ACFC Selections

In March of 1993 Drass was named the Wolverines third Division III coach, after spending three years as the defensive coordinator. 

The Wolverines, committed to success on the field and in the classroom, stress an academics first approach to college football.  “Football at Wesley College is about a cap and gown, not a helmet and shoulder pads,” says Drass “I get the most satisfaction when one of our players walks across the graduation stage. Our belief is simple: There can be no success on the field unless there is progress toward a degree in the classroom.”

Drass has coordinated the Wesley defense and has spearheaded the Wolverines’ recruiting since his arrival at Wesley in 1989. Wesley has held top 25 total defense ranking 11 of the last 16 seasons. This past season, the Wolverines' finished as the No. 1 defense in Division III, in addition to a pair of second place finishes during his tenure.

Coach Drass began his coaching career at North Penn High School in Blossburg, Pennsylvania in 1983. Following two seasons as an assistant, he spent two years as the school’s head coach before accepting a coaching position at Mansfield University, where he is a member of the Mansfield University Athletic Hall of Fame. At his alma mater, he developed the reputation of being an outstanding recruiter while he coached under Tom Elsasser from 1986-88. In 1989, he was hired at Wesley as the defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator.

As a player, Drass was a three year starter and  two-time All-PSAC selection as an offensive lineman and captain of the Mountaineers. In his senior year Drass was the only Mountie named to the All-PSAC 1st team. Coach Drass originally hails from Glen Mills, Pennsylvania and attended Penncrest High School.

Coach Drass is an active member of the American Football Coaches Association. He has served as the chairman of the Division III All American selection Committee and has served two terms as the District II Chairman of the AFCA Rules Committee. Coach Drass is a member of the ECAC Championship committee for football. He and his wife Laurie reside in Dover and their daughter Molly Ann (10).

Coach Drass Coaching File
1983-84:  Assistant Coach, North Penn High School
1985-86:  Head Coach, North Penn High School
1987-88:  Assistant Coach, Mansfield University
1989-92:  Assistant Coach, Wesley College
1993-Present:  Head Coach, Wesley College

 

Coach Drass Year-by-Year Won Loss Record

Year

Record

Pct.

ACFC

Pct.

NCAA

Pct.

Notes

1993 7-3-1 .682 --       ECAC Bowl Game
1994 8-2 .800 --        
1995 8-3 .727 --       ECAC Bowl Game
1996 7-2 .777 --        
1997 7-3 .700 --       ECAC Bowl Game
1998 7-3
.700 3-0
1.000     ACFC Champions; ECAC Bowl Game
1999 6-4 .600 4-2 .667      
2000
9-2
.818 6-0
1.000 0-1 .000 NCAA First Round; ACFC Champions
2001 7-3 .700

3-0

1.000     ACFC Champions; ECAC Bowl Game
2002 5-5 .500 1-2 .333      
2003 6-4 .600 1-2 .333      
2004 8-2 .800 4-1 .800      

2005

12-2

.857

4-1

.800 3-1 .750 NCAA Semifinals; NCAA South Region Champions; ACFC Champions

2006

13-1  

.929

4-0  

1.000 3-1 .750 NCAA Semifinals; NCAA South Region Champions; ACFC Champions

2007

11-2  

.846

4-0

1.000 2-1 .667 NCAA Quarterfinals; Lambert Meadowlands Trophy; ECAC Team of the Year; ACFC Champions
2008 9-2 .818 3-0 1.000 1-1 .500 NCAA Second Round; ACFC Champions
2009 13-1 .929 3-0 1.000 3-1 .750 NCAA Semifinals; NCAA South Region Champions; ACFC Champions
2010 12-1 .923 3-0 1.000 3-1 .750 NCAA Semifinals; NCAA South Region Champions;  ACFC Champions
Career 155-45-1 .774 43-8 .843 15-7 .682 Seven NCAA Tournament Appearances
Nine Conference Titles