ALMA — Alma College’s Jason Couch is the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) 2023 Football Coach of the Year, the conference announced in a press release earlier this month.

This year, Couch led the Scots to their second-consecutive MIAA title with an unblemished record of 6-0 (10-0 overall). This is the first time that Alma has had back-to-back conference titles in 55 years. In his sixth season at the helm of the program, Couch landed 16 players on the All-MIAA Team, including 2023 MIAA Most Valuable Offensive Player Carter St. John.

Since receiving the honor from the conference, the Scots have only continued their winning ways. As the only MIAA team to reach the NCAA Division III football tournament, the No. 13/11-ranked Scots defeated RV/No. 21 DePauw (Ind.) University in the first round on Nov. 18.

In the second round of the tournament, on the road against No. 2/2-ranked Mount Union (Ohio) University, the Scots pulled off a thrilling comeback to upset the Purple Raiders, 24-20.

The Scots will host SUNY Cortland in the third round of the tournament at noon Saturday. It’ll mark the first time in program history that Alma has reached the third round.

“This is truly an honor,” said Couch of the MIAA award. “I consider this a staff and team award. The coaches work extremely hard and are dedicated to providing our players with the best experience possible. Our players have embraced our KILTSTYLE culture and have performed wonderfully on the field and in the classroom.”

Couch is a 1997 graduate of Alma College. During his time on the Scots’ football team, from 1993-96, he served as starting center for three seasons. In 1996, Couch received All-Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association First Team accolades and was named an honorable mention All-American.

In 2018, Couch was named the 30th head coach in the history of the Scots’ football program. Last year, he led the team to its first MIAA championship since 2004 and their first NCAA playoff victory in program history en route to being named D3football.com Region 4 Coach of the Year.

For more information on the Scots’ football team, visit almascots.com.