Bryan Collins has been the Pioneers’ head football coach since 1998, and enters his 13th season as the school’s all-time winningest coach with an overall 93-39 record.
Throughout his coaching career, the backbone of Collins’ game plan has been a strong defense, a philosophy that has resulted in C.W. Post defenders leading all Division II teams in fewest rushing yards four times, the most recent coming during the 2004 campaign. Collins-led defenses have also topped the Division II list for defensive pass efficiency in 2003, as well as earning the top spot in total defense twice.
Under his leadership, the Pioneers have become a perennial nationally-ranked squad that won four undisputed Northeast-10 Conference championships (2001, 2002, 2004, 2005) and a share of another NE-10 title (2006), as well as three times earning a berth in the NCAA Division II playoffs.
In just the third season competing in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, Collins guided the team to a 6-5 overall record and 5-2 mark in division play in 2009, turning the team around from a 3-8 record a year earlier in 2008. In addition, junior quarterback Erik Anderwkavich was the ECAC Player of the Year and freshman Thomas Beverly was both ECAC and PSAC East Rookie of the Year. Junior defensive lineman Xavier Brown was also named an AFCA All-American.
The 2005 season was the most successful in the school record books, as the Pioneers won the first two NCAA Division II Championship tournament games in the program’s history in advancing to the national quarterfinals. C.W. Post hosted its first NCAA game since 1976, and won a 24-20 decision over visiting West Chester (Pa.) on a game-ending, 96-yard drive. One week later, the Pioneers traveled to top-seeded Shepherd (W. Va.) and beat the sixth-ranked Rams to advance to the quarterfinals. C.W. Post was ranked 22nd nationally at the end of the year by the AFCA, and four players garnered All-America accolades from numerous publications. The Pioneers were named the Division II Team of the Year by the ECAC and CollegeSportsReport.com.
The continued success enjoyed by Collins was noted in the November 2003 issue of American Football Monthly, which noted the 46-year-old mentor’s ability to develop a program in a two-page feature article. The publication’s Video Series program also acknowledged his talent on the defensive side by featuring him in a trio of instructional videos on the 4-4 defense.
Collins led his 2004 Pioneer squad to its second NCAA berth in three years, becoming the first C.W. Post head football coach to make a return trip to the NCAA postseason. At the conclusion of the season, eight Pioneer players were awarded All-Conference recognition, including six selections to the First Team unit.
In addition to those awards, the team’s defense was recognized for the fifth year in a row with the second straight selection of linebacker Joe Gangemi as NE-10 Defensive Player of the Year. Peter Lazare also picked up his second consecutive Defensive Lineman of the Year award from the conference, while tackle Taibika Hickson was tabbed as the NE-10’s Offensive Lineman of the Year.
One year earlier, the team finished 9-2, winning their final eight games. Combining a balanced offense with a typically stingy defense, the Pioneers bridged the gap to achieve success in a year that many thought would be dedicated to rebuilding after sustaining major losses from graduation on both sides of the line.
In 2002, the Pioneers reached the Division II NCAA playoffs, competing as the only non-scholarship squad among the 16 competing teams and ending the year with their second straight 11-1 record. His efforts in 2002 resulted in his being named Regional Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association and Coach of the Year by the Northeast-10 Conference.
In addition, the team’s rushing defense was ranked as the top unit in Division II for the third consecutive season, while total defense and scoring defense also were statistically established as the best in Division II. The total defense accolade was the second time C.W. Post has won the honor over the past three years.
One indication of the team’s defensive prowess in 2002 was the seven games in which Pioneer opponents scored less than 10 points, including four shutouts. Another was the fact that after the first seven games of the campaign, the defense had scored more points than it had allowed.
In 2001, Collins’ squad established a new school high in scoring with 488 points, combining a powerful running game and effective passing attack with a relentless defense that collected an amazing 66 sacks on the year.
That potent 2001 offense had both a quarterback (Frank Ingoglia) and running back (Ian Smart) who collected more than 2,000 yards of total offense. In addition, the Pioneer special teams unit returned two kickoffs and three punts for scores, while also blocking a punt that was converted for six points.
For those efforts, Collins was named 2001 Division II Mid-Major Coach of the Year by Football Gazette magazine, having previously been named twice as Eastern Football Conference Coach of the Year in 1999 and 2000. The latter two awards were in recognition of the team’s consecutive Atlantic Division championships.
Following the 2000 campaign in which the Pioneers won their second-consecutive Eastern Football Conference title, all four C.W. Post starting defensive linemen were recognized with postseason hardware, a nod to their standout performances. That accomplishment was acknowledged by American Football Monthly magazine, which tabbed Collins as its Division II Defensive Coordinator of the Year in its September 2001 issue.
The aforementioned running game has been the hallmark of Collins’ offense since his arrival. Following a 7-3 mark in his first year, Collins made the team’s offensive backfield a top priority. The result was a 1,000-yard rusher (Rick Haering) in 1999, the school’s first pair of 1,000-yard rushers in 2000 (Haering and Smart) and the leading rusher in all of college football (Smart) for 2001.
Smart ended his collegiate career as the all-time leader in touchdowns (95) and scoring (570 points) and yards per carry (7.58). He also finished as the #4 rusher in college football history with 6,647 yards, despite being removed from countless games due to lopsided scores in favor of C.W. Post.
Collins has been a part of the Pioneer program for more than a decade. He spent five seasons as an assistant coach with the Pioneers, including 1996-97 as the team’s defensive coordinator under former C.W. Post tutor Tom Marshall.
A 1987 graduate of St. John’s University, Collins played linebacker for four seasons. Following graduation, he served for three seasons as an assistant coach at St. Francis Prep, during which time the Little Terriers captured three Catholic League championships.
Collins served as an assistant defensive coach with C.W. Post from 1991-93, helping the Pioneers to the 1993 ECAC IFC Division II Championship, the first postseason win in the history of the program. He then accepted the defensive coordinator position at Kings Point, where he led the Mariners to their first ever NCAA Division III Tournament berth in 1994.
Returning to C.W. Post prior to the 1996 season, Collins spearheaded the Pioneer defense to the ECAC/IFC Division II Championship with a 29-0 win over Bentley. That season, seven of C.W. Post’s defensive starters were named to either the ECAC IFC All-Star Team or the Don Hansen’s Football Gazette All-Star Team.
The following year, Collins’ defensive skills were again on display as opponents managed only 49 points over the final seven games of the 1997 season (7.0 points per game) while the Pioneer defense did not allow a touchdown in three of its last four contests.
Collins currently serves as a member of three committees for the American Football Coaches Association: the Rules Committee, the weekly coaches’ polls and All-America selections. In addition, he had an article published in the organization’s 2001 journal titled “When It Counts - Goal Line Defense: We’re All There.”
In May 2002, Collins authored another article for the publication entitled, “Roll Call at the Ball,” imparting his knowledge of defensive tactics.
Off the field, Collins has included community service as a part of his players’ responsibilities. Among the efforts since his arrival have been visitations to the St. Mary’s Children’s Hospital in Bayside, NY, while also volunteering with other charitable organizations.
He has also met with and assisted the National Football League in the New York area with its High School Player Development program, which seeks to foster increased interest in the sport along with supplementing the football budgets of schools. He has also worked with the National Football Foundation (New York City chapter) in enhancing its Play It Smart campaign.
Collins and his wife, Patti, reside in Sayville, N.Y. with their son, Tyler (15), and daughter Megan (10).