MATT KELCHNERÂ recently completed a lengthy and successful career as a football coach, and is now serving in a new role as Associate Athletic Director at Christopher Newport University.
Kelchner guided the CNU football program from its inception in 2000 through the 2016 season. The Captains have achieved amazing success in their first 16 seasons of action. Kelchner's squads posted an overall record of 109-60 for a winning percentage of .645. CNU won ten conference championships and advanced to ten NCAA Division III Championship appearances.
Kelchner led CNU into play as a member of the New Jersey Athletic Conference his last two seasons following 14 seasons in the Dixie/USA South Athletic Conference. The Captains bounced back after a 4-6 season in 2015 to record a 7-3 mark in 2016 and a 7-2 final record in the NJAC.
In 2014, the Captains recorded a record of 8-4 and captured the USA South Athletic Conference title for the tenth time. CNU advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament by beating Delaware Valley in the opening round.Â
Christopher Newport went 89-24 all-time in league play under Kelchner, for a winning percentage of .788.
A native of Covington, Pennsylvania, Kelchner was named the Coach of the Year in the USA South Athletic Conference seven times (2001, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, and 2014).
Kelchner, a 1982 graduate of Susquehanna University, not only started the CNU program from scratch but made it competitive from the very beginning. The Captains very quickly developed a national presence seldom seen in young programs.
His experience as a coach began in 1982 as an assistant at Mansfield University. In 1983, he joined the staff at Dickinson College for one year. He left to join the staff at William & Mary, and for the next 16 seasons climbed the ladder under Head Coach Jimmye Laycock. Kelchner eventually rose to the level of Recruiting Coordinator and Assistant Head Football Coach of the Tribe.
While at William & Mary, Kelchner worked closely with the squad's punting and kicking games. He also had the opportunity to coach numerous future NFL players. The list of pro players includes kicker Steve Christie, formerly of the Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Bucaneers, as well as receiver Mike Tomlin, who has gone on to win the Super Bowl as the head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Under Kelchner's leadership, the William & Mary program turned out four of the top five rushers in school history. Kelchner also spent two seasons working with the defensive line and his units produced four athletes who earned All-Conference honors.
Before his departure, Kelchner served as the recruiting coordinator and offensive backfield coach. He also handled the program's daily administrative duties and directed the Tribe Football Camp and Colonial All-Pro Camp.
Kelchner was named the Head Coach of the Christopher Newport football program on May 9, 2000. Almost 16 months later, on September 1, 2001, the Captains hit the playing field for the first game in program history. A crowd of over 6,000 watched the Captains battle Salisbury at POMOCO Stadium. The Captains of 2001 would eventually win a conference co-championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament, becoming the first start-up program to ever make the playoffs at any level.
CNU, with Kelchner leading the way, holds the distinction of being the only school in NCAA history to earn a spot in the playoffs in its first four seasons of existence.
Kelchner and his wife, Kathryn, reside in Yorktown and have three sons, Grant, Luke, and Zeke.
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