BLOOMSBURG - Danny Hale announced Friday he will retire as Bloomsburg University head football coach effective at the end of June. Assistant head coach Paul Darragh will assume the role of interim head coach for the 2013 season.
Hale, one of the winningest coaches in Division II, completed his 20th season at Bloomsburg and his 25th overall in coaching in 2012, compiling a record of 173-56-1 (.754) with the Huskies and holds the school record for most coaching victories. In 25 years as a head coach, he had a mark of 213-69-1 (.754) and ranked in the top five among active coaches in NCAA Division II in winning percentage and victories at the end of last season.
"After spending the last few months thinking and praying about this decision, I decided it was time to step away from coaching," Hale said. "There is a time for everything in life and now is the time to pass the torch to someone else.
"It has been an incredible 20 years here at Bloomsburg, and I am extremely proud of the program that has been established here."
In his 20 seasons as head coach at Bloomsburg, Hale led the Huskies to 11 outright or shared Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division titles and eight NCAA post-season playoff berths. In the last 13 seasons (2000-2012) Bloomsburg was one of the most successful NCAA Division II programs with a combined record of 121-32 (.791).
Hale, who was honored in April 2012 when the field at the school was named for him following a year-long fundraising effort, was named the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) District I Coach of the Year nine times, the third highest total in AFCA history. Twice he won the honor in consecu-
tive seasons (2000-2001 and 2005-2006), and he was also named the PSAC Eastern Division Coach of the Year 10 times, including four straight years from 1994 to 1997 and back-to-back in 2005 and 2006.
Among the players Hale coached at Bloomsburg are current NFL Pro Bowl offensive guard Jahri Evans of the New Orleans Saints; Irv Sigler, the 1997 winner of the Harlon Hill Award as the nation's top D-II player; Jamar Brittingham, the all-time leading rusher in the history of the school and the PSAC, who finished third in the balloting for the Harlon Hill; and current standout Franklyn Quiteh, who finished third and sixth in the Harlon Hill balloting in his first three years and is poised to break Brittingham's school and PSAC career rushing mark.
Hale and his wife Diane are the parents of four children, Roman; Brandie; Tyson; and Christina and have 10 grandchildren. A national search for a permanent successor will be conducted later this year.