Nomination Form 1 Coach Complete nomination includes: X This official nomination form X Current high resolution photo X President recommendation

NAIA Hall of Fame Award Coach Recognizes a coach in a specfic sport with the association s highest honor RECEIPT DEADLINE TO NATIONAL OFFICE BY JULY 15, 2018 SUBMIT TO KELLI BRISCOE AT KBRISCOE@NAIA.ORG OR NAIA, ATTN: KELLI BRISCOE, 1200 GRAND BLVD., KANSAS CITY, MO 64106 Nomination Form 2 Coach Fields will expand as nomination information is entered. 1. NAIA National Championship competed in by nominee s teams, years and place finishes: 38-8 in NAIA Play-Offs over Coach Van Diest s 19 year career 2. NAIA National Championships won by nominee s teams (include district, conference, region, etc.): 14 Frontier Conference Championships, Six NAIA National Championships (2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, & 2010) 3. NAIA national honors received: Frontier Conference Coach of the Year ten times. 2003 and 2005 NAIA National Coach of the Year by the American Football Association, AFCA Coach of the Year in 2003, 2007 and 2010. 4. NAIA committees, coaches associations, etc. served: 5. Biographical sketch: 19 years as head coach at Carroll College, Mike Van Diest has led the Fighting Saints to six National Championships, 14 Frontier Conference Championships (including twelve straight titles from 2000-2011) for one of the most dominating runs in college football history. The Saints have posted a 198-48 record during the past sixteen seasons. This includes a Frontier Conference mark of 138-28 for an impressive winning percentage of 83 percent. The Saints have compiled a playoff record of 39-8 over the past fourteen years. This past three seasons, the Saints have ended with 4-6 records. Prior to that, Carroll College ended the 2014 season ranked No. 1 in the country and reached the NAIA FCS Quarterfinal game, losing a heartbreaker to Southern Oregon University with a tight score of 45-42. The Saints finished 10-2. By virtue of their 9-1 Frontier Conference mark, Carroll College won its second consecutive Frontier Conference Championship Crown, the 14th championship in 16 seasons. The Saints were a perfect 5-0 at home in Nelson Stadium during the regular season. After going 12-2 in 2013 and falling in the national semifinal, Coach Van Diest was honored as the 2013 region five NAIA coach of the year by the American Football Coaches Association. In 2011 the Saints reached the National Championship game for the 8th time in the past 10 years and ended the season in second place after losing to St. Xavier 20-24. In 2010 the Saints won their sixth National Championship in the past 9 seasons and the 7th appearance in the title game. The Saints posted a 14-0 record defeating the University of Sioux Falls 10-7 in the championship game. This was the 4th time under Van Diest that the Saints finished with a perfect record, the other seasons were in 2003, 2005 and 2007. During Van Diest s tenure, Carroll has had the National Player of the Year four times. Tyler Emmert received this award in 2003 and 2005 and in 2008 Owen Koeppen was named Player of the Year. Chance Demarais won the award in 2011. In 2000 and 2001 the Saints finished with a number 3 national ranking. The Saints defense was ranked 11th in 2000, 4th in 2001, 6th in 2002, 5th in 2003 and 3rd in 2004 and number one in 2005 and 2006. In 2006 the Saints defense gave up an average of 5.8 points per contest. While at Carroll College, Van Diest has coached 37 All-Conference linebackers with eight being named First Team All-Americans: Joe Horne (2001), Cory Perzinski (2002), Marcus Atkinson (2003), Gary Cooper (2004, 2005), Seamus Molloy (2006), Owen Koeppen (2007, 2008) and Thomas Dolan (2010) and Sean Blomquist (2013, 2014). Horne, Atkinson, Cooper, Koeppen (twice), Dolan (twice) and Blomquist (twice) were also named Frontier Conference Defensive Player of the Year. During his tenure as head coach Van Diest has been named Frontier Conference Coach of the Year ten times. In 2003 and 2005 Van Diest was named NAIA National Coach of the Year by the American Football Association as well as the AFCA Coach of the Year in 2003, 2007 and 2010. Van Diest is a 1970 graduate of Helena High School. His career has included stops at his alma mater, the University of Wyoming, the University of Montana, the University of Massachusetts, and the Big Ten representative, Northwestern University, as an assistant coach. Van Diest has won titles at Montana (Big Sky Champions, 1982), Wyoming (two Western Athletic Conference Championships and one Pacific Division Championship, 1986) and 14 Frontier Conference Championships at Carroll, as well as the 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, and 2010 NAIA National Championships. He and his wife Heidi have two sons, Shane, 30 and Clay, 23. NAIA National Office 1200 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, MO 64106 816.595.8000 www.naia.org Hall of Fame Award Coach

March 26, 2018 Dear NAIA Football Hall of Fame Committee: It is my pleasure to recommend Mike Van Diest, Head Coach of Carroll College (MT) for induction into the NAIA Football Hall of Fame. I have personally known Mike since 2006 when my team (Saint Xavier University) had the opportunity to compete against his great program for the first time in the Quarterfinals of the NAIA Championship Series. I also had the fortune (or misfortune) of meeting Mike again in the 2010 Semifinals and then the tremendous honor of playing against him the following year for the 2011 NAIA National Championship. Mike and I both became head coaches in 1999 and there is no question in my mind that he was and still is the standard for all NAIA coaches (and quite possibly all of small college football). From afar, my respect for his program s accomplishments reached an all time high when CC won their mind boggling fourth consecutive NAIA National Championship in 2005. I personally used Carroll College as the main motivation for my own team as our goal was to be the next Carroll. In fact, when we were fortunate enough to defeat Mike s team in the 2006 Quarterfinals and end their incomparable four year championship run, the inscription on our team s ring read, Defeating the Dynasty, and it was done out of tremendous respect and admiration for the Carroll College football program. Mike owns a career record of 198 48 which is the highest winning percentage (80.4%) of any NAIA coach past or present and his teams have won 14 Frontier Conference championships. Under the leadership of Mike, Carroll College has also qualified for the NAIA Championship Series 14 times, made eight National Championship game appearances and have won six times which ranks second in NAIA history only to current NCAA II member Texas A&M Kingsville (formerly Texas A&I). Mike has also been named the AFCA NAIA National Coach of the Year three times (2003, 2007, 2010). In my humble opinion, these incredible accomplishments alone make Mike s induction a slam dunk decision for the committee with the nomination process serving as a mere formality. However, statistics and championships alone do not tell the entire story of Mike Van Diest. Mike and I were both NAIA Officers and served on the NAIA Ratings Committee for several years and I truly believe he is a man of integrity and high character. He is a dedicated husband and father as well as being a terrific role model for the young men he coaches. In 2007, I was honored to be the game committeeman for the NAIA championship game between Carroll and Sioux Falls so I basically had the opportunity to shadow Mike, his coaching staff and players for three days. As expected, I came away incredibly impressed with Mike s organization, the way he interacted with his players on and off the field as well as the overall professionalism with which he ran his program. In short, Mike s team mirrored their coach. The players were extremely focused, disciplined and regimented while at the same time it was obvious they held a belief system that was second to none.

In conclusion, it is my hope that Mike Van Diest will be given every consideration for induction into the NAIA Football Hall of Fame and I believe the timing could not be any better with Mike likely reaching his illustrious 200 th victory during the 2018 season. I certainly cannot think of anyone who is more deserving of this prestigious honor than Mike. Please let me know if I can be of any further assistance and feel to contact me at feminis@sxu.edu or 630 217 0555. Sincerely, Mike Feminis Head Football Coach Saint Xavier University

May 30, 2018 Selection Committee NAIA Football Hall of Fame To Whom It May Concern: It is with great pride and enthusiasm that I offer my wholehearted support of Mike Van Diest for nomination into the NAIA Coaches Hall of Fame. The impact that Mike has had on the Athletic Department, the Carroll College community, the city of Helena, the Frontier Conference, the state of Montana and the NAIA is nothing less than transformative. In my nearly 40 years as an athletic administrator at both the NCAA and NAIA levels, I have to say that I have never worked with a coach as special as Mike Van Diest. We hear so much about his exploits on the field but more importantly, he is just a great person. He is loyal to his faith, his family, his student-athletes coaches and to Carroll College. Mike is very deserving of this tremendous honor. In his tenure as head coach at Carroll College, Mike Van Diest has led the Fighting Saints to six National Championships, 14 Frontier Conference Championships (including twelve straight titles from 2000-2011) for one of the most dominating runs in college football history. The Saints have posted a 199-48 record during his nineteen seasons. This includes a Frontier Conference mark of 143-34 for an impressive winning percentage of 83 percent. The Saints have compiled a playoff record of 39-8. Compared to Van Diest s track record, the 2015 and 2016 seasons were aberrations. Carroll College ended the 2014 season ranked No. 1 in the country and reached the NAIA FCS Quarterfinal game, losing a heartbreaker to Southern Oregon University with a tight score of 45-42. The Saints finished 10-2. By virtue of their 9-1 Frontier Conference mark, Carroll College won its second consecutive Frontier Conference Championship Crown, the 14th championship in 16 seasons After going 12-2 in 2013 and falling in the national semifinal, Coach Van Diest was honored as the 2013 region five NAIA coach of the year by the American Football Coaches Association. In 2011 the Saints reached the National Championship game for the 8th time in the past 10 years and ended the season in second place after losing to St. Xavier 20-24. In 2010 the Saints won their sixth National Championship in the past 9 seasons and the 7th appearance in the title game. The Saints posted a 14-0 record defeating the University of Sioux Falls 10-7 in the championship game. This was the 4th time under Van Diest that the Saints finished with a perfect record, the other seasons were in 2003, 2005 and 2007.

Van Diest Page 2 During Van Diest s tenure, Carroll has had the National Player of the Year four times. Tyler Emmert received this award in 2003 and 2005 as well as the A.O. Duer Award winner. In 2008 Owen Koeppen was named Player of the Year. Chance Demarais won the award in 2011. While at Carroll College, Van Diest has coached 37 All-Conference linebackers with eight being named First Team All-Americans. During his tenure as head coach Van Diest has been named Frontier Conference Coach of the Year ten times. In 2003 and 2005 Van Diest was named NAIA National Coach of the Year by the American Football Association as well as the AFCA Coach of the Year in 2003, 2007 and 2010. Mike has created an extraordinary connection to the Helena community and state of Montana with his giving back to the community. Through his work he has the ability to reach out to local schools and the youth in the Montana. He has never forgotten his roots, he is proud of his Montana heritage and proud to be a coach at one of the NAIA s top program of the last two decades. His energy and enthusiasm level will amaze you and his genuineness and likeability will disarm you. All of us have benefited from knowing Mike, I am very proud and happy for his success and believe he would be an exceptional selection to the NAIA Hall of Fame. Mike represents the best of the best and exemplifies what coaching is all about-- excelling in academic and athletic performance as well as representing the high expectations we have for our students to be servant leaders. He embodies the five core values of the NAIA s Champions of Character. During the past 20 years that I have had the opportunity to know him, Mike Van Diest has demonstrated the qualifications one should possess to be considered for this great honor. I can, therefore, recommend him to you with tremendous enthusiasm. Please contact me at (406)927-7085 if you need further information. Sincerely, Bruce M. Parker Former Director of Athletics (retired) Consultant to RMC Athletics Rocky Mountain College 1511 Poly Drive Billings, MT 59102 bruce.parker@rocky.edu