Plymouth State Athletic Hall of Fame
JAY COTTONE: Cottone is the owner of the highest winning percentage in Plymouth State football history. His teams captured five straight New England Football Conference titles and made three postseason appearances, including the team's first NCAA tournament appearance in 1984 and the program's first postseason win in the 1983 ECAC New England Bowl.
Cottone was the architect that helped put Plymouth State football on the national stage. The former Norwich assistant's head coaching career started with a 17-0 setback to his former squad in the 1981 opener. Any doubt about Cottone’s future was quickly erased, though, as Plymouth State embarked on a winning streak that encompassed nearly two full seasons.
The Panthers rolled through the NEFC schedule to capture their first championship with a perfect 9-0 record, at the time the best mark ever compiled in the league dating back to its inception in 1965. Cottone's squad led the nation in both passing defense and interceptions and was second in total defense and scoring defense. Cottone was named NEFC Coach of the Year.
He was just getting started though, as the 1982 campaign would go down as one of the most dominant seasons in football history at any level. A perfect 10-0 season, a 19-game winning streak, winning the Lambert Bowl as the top division three program in the east, capturing a second straight unbeaten NEFC championship and a record six consecutive shutouts.
Plymouth State outscored the opposition by an incredible 414-48 margin, set more than 40 team and individual records, led the nation in pass defense, total defense, and interceptions, and finished second in the country in scoring offense and scoring defense.
Cottone took home NEFC coach of the year honors for the second straight year, while the team finished the season ranked 10th in the final NCAA Division III National Poll. It was later enshrined in the PSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997.
The 1983 edition of the Panthers began the season ranked fourth in preseason polls by both Sports Illustrated and the Football News but lost two of its first five games. The squad would regroup though, ripping off six straight victories to close the season.
Plymouth State shared the NEFC title with Mass. Maritime, and the two teams met in the ECAC New England Bowl Championship, the program's first postseason bid. Plymouth State built a commanding 35-7 halftime lead before holding off the Buccaneers' second half charge for a 35-24 win.
Plymouth State tore through the schedule again in 1984. The Panthers went 10-0 with an average margin of victory of nearly 28 points, posting the second undefeated season in three years and making history as the first team to win four straight NEFC championships. Plymouth State trailed only once all season, 7-0 to Bridgewater State in an eventual 28-7 win, and outscored the opposition by 280 points in the regular season.
Once again, Plymouth State appeared among the nation's leaders in several offensive and defensive categories. Cottone's squad was rewarded with one of eight spots in the NCAA tournament, becoming the first New England team ever to earn a berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs. Though the Panthers fell to Union College, 24-14, Plymouth State football was firmly on the national stage.
The Panthers held the top spot in the final regular season Lambert Poll, and the team was ranked fourth in the final regular season National Poll, while Cottone was named the New England Division III Coach of the Year.
A year later, not much changed for the Panthers. Plymouth State went 8-1 in NEFC play to share a fifth consecutive title with Western Connecticut. The Panthers were back in the postseason for a third straight year, this time squaring off against Albany State in the ECAC North Championship.
All told, Cottone oversaw 15 All-Americans, 21 All-New England athletes, and 42 first-team NEFC All-Stars during his five years at the helm. His career record of 46-7 made his .868 winning percentage the best in the history of the program, while his teams went a remarkable 43-2 in NEFC play.
