KCAC Coach of the Year (1996) AFCA Assistant Coach of the Year (2022)
George Papageorgiou (c. 1956 – May 18, 2024) was an American football coach and player. He was an assistant coach at Benedictine College.[1] Papageorgiou served as the head football coach at Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas, from 1995 to 1999, compiling a record of 18–29. Papageorgiou died on May 18, 2024, at the age of 68.[2]
Papageorgiou was an assistant coach at Washington until 1983, working with both running backs and the defensive line. Before taking the head coach position at Bethel he was an assistant for the Willamette Bearcats in Salem, Oregon.[3] He was an assistant in Wichita, KS for af2's Wichita Stealth arena team from 2001-2003. He was an assistant coach at Benedictine in Atchison, Kansas.[1] In 2022, he was named the NAIA Assistant Football Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association.[5]
Bethel
Papageorgiou was the head football coach at Bethel College in North Newton, Kansas, serving for five seasons, from 1995 until 1999, and compiling a record of 18–29.[6] He was named Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) Coach of the Year in 1996 after leading Bethel to an overall record of 7–3 and a second-place finish in the KCAC with a conference mark of 7–1. Bethel went 5–5 in 1998, but was forced to forfeit all five of those victories in 1999 when it was discovered that an ineligible player has participated during the season. Papageorgiou resigned midway through the 1999 season, on November 3, and was replaced by Mike Moore on an interim basis.[7]
^ abcBethel finished the 1998 season with overall record of 5–5 and conference mark of 4–4, tying for fourth place.
In 1999, they forfeited all five victories because of an ineligible player.
^ abcPapageorgiou led the team for the first eight games of the 1998 before resigning on November 3. Mike Moore was appointed interim head coach for the remainder of the season. Bethel finished the year with an overall record of 3–7 and conference mark of 2–6, tying for seventh place.
References
^ ab"Coaching Staff". Benedictine Athletics. Archived from the original on December 22, 2010. Retrieved November 12, 2010.