Mingo Named AFCA NAIA Region 2 Coach of the Year
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UPLAND, Ind. – Taylor’s fourth-year head football coach, Aaron Mingo, was named the American Football Coaches Association NAIA Region 2 Coach of the Year on Tuesday, after leading his Trojans to a 9-2 overall record during the 2024 campaign.
Mingo was one of six NAIA coaches to be honored on Tuesday, joining Keiser’s Myles Russ, MidAmerica Nazarene’s Paul Hansen, Morningside’s Steve Ryan, Southern Oregon’s Berk Brown and Texas College’s Jarrail Jackson in being named an AFCA NAIA Region Coach of the Year.
Mingo and the Trojans rebounded from a 2-9 season in 2023 to post the 9-2 mark in 2024, matching the largest regular season turnaround in the NAIA with a seven-win gain over 2023. That seven-win jump in the regular season is also tops among all NCAA Division II and III programs and is currently tied with Indiana University for the most among any four-year collegiate football program in the country.
After opening the 2024 season with four-straight wins for TU’s best start since 1999, Mingo guided the Trojans to their first winning season since going 7-3 in 2015 and to their most wins in MSFA play since also winning four league games in that 2015 season.
Along the way, the Taylor offense set new program records for scoring average (48.4), total yards per game (486.4), rushing yards per game (311.7), total touchdowns (75), rushing touchdowns (54) and total points scored (532).
Taylor also set its single-game record and made MSFA history with 91 points in a blowout win at Madonna and ended the season ranked No. 22 in the NAIA for its first Top-25 ranking since early into the 2012 campaign.
At 9-2, Mingo’s squad racked up the second-highest single-season win total in Taylor’s 77-year history on the gridiron, trailing only the NAIA Playoff team from 1999 and its 10 wins for the top spot in TU’s history.
