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Aaron Kelton has spent the
past two years as Columbia's defensive
coordinator.
Columbia athletics photo
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Williams athletic director Harry Sheehy announced that Aaron
Kelton has been named the Ephs' head football coach, succeeding
Mike Whalen, who left Williams to return to coach his alma mater,
Wesleyan.
Kelton comes to Williams from Columbia, where he has served as the
Lions' defensive coordinator for the past two seasons after having
served the two previous seasons as secondary coach.
Kelton joins Chapman's Bob Owens, Salisbury's Sherman Wood,
DePauw's Robby Long and three other offseason hires, Capital's
Henry Stanford, Greenville's Ordell Walker and Widener's Isaac
Collins, as the only African-American head football coaches in
Division III out of nearly 240 programs, according to
D3football.com research.
"The search committee was impressed with Aaron's energy and passion
for teaching the game of football to young men, and this passion
resonated with people on our campus throughout the process," said
Sheehy. "He'll be a tireless teacher, coach, and recruiter. Current
and future Eph football players will be inspired and challenged to
reach for their potential under Aaron's tutelage. It's with much
enthusiasm that we call on him to carry forward the great tradition
that is Williams football."
That tradition was a key attraction for Kelton. "I'm ecstatic to
have this opportunity to carry on the great tradition of Williams
football and work on building it to the level it should be at each
year," Kelton said. "As the head coach it will be my job to assist
in all phases of the football team, from offense to defense to
special teams. I'll work with the defensive backs but will not be
the offensive or defensive coordinator. My job is to lead the team
and build the program.
"We'll work hard and do what needs to be done. The goal every year
will be to go 8-0."
Kelton inherits a Williams team that is coming off a 6-2 season and
will return 18 of 22 starters.
Under Kelton the Columbia Lions fielded one of the Ivy League's top
secondaries. Kelton developed defensive back Tad Crawford '07, who
was a high draft choice in the Canadian Football League.
Kelton was born in Boston and graduated from Wellesley (Mass.) High
School, where he was a three-sport athlete, competing in football,
basketball, and baseball. He graduated from Springfield in 1992
with a bachelor's degree in psychology and lettered all four years
for the Pride in football, starting two years at quarterback.