Hall of Fame
Position: Coach
Years: 1981-2007
Place of Birth: West Milton, OH
Date of Birth: Jan. 26, 1948
With numerous championships and Coach of the Year awards to his credit, Mike Kelly is the winningest coach in Football Championship Subdivision history winning 82 percent of his games. With 27 years and a 246-54-1 all-time record at Dayton, Kelly places among the top 20 for coaches across all divisions in both wins and winning percentage. Kelly began his coaching career in 1981 with a 12-1 mark and District Coach of the Year honors. The Flyers placed second in the nation in Division III that year, finishing as the runner-up again in 1987 and 1991. In 1989 UD went 13-0-1 taking the national title. Four year later, Dayton moved to I-AA status joining the Pioneer League. In 15 seasons in the conference he won ten titles taking home Coach of the Year honors six times. Kelly shares the distinction with College Football Hall of Fame coaches Tom Osborne, Joe Paterno and Barry Switzer as the only coaches to reach the 150-win mark by their 16th season at the helm. He joins Coach Harry Baujan (1923-46) in the Hall of Fame, marking the second inductee from Dayton. Kelly coached 56 First Team All-Americans, 94 First Team All-Conference players and 44 Academic All-Americans, including 2007 NFF National Scholar-Athlete Brandon Cramer.
