Assistant replaces Paul at Thomas More
 Hallett |
Hallett is just the third head coach in the 14-year history of the football program at Thomas More. He has 12 years of experience as a coach, including five as an assistant coach at Thomas More as the team"s offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. During that time, Thomas More has been nationally ranked in several offensive categories, the most notable being rushing offense.
Paul was named the head coach at Ohio Northern last week after five seasons at Thomas More in which he compiled a 40-12 (.769) record. He is currently eighth among active Division III head coaches in winning percentage. In 2001, he led Thomas More to its second appearance in the NCAA playoffs in 2001 when the team set a school mark for wins with an 11-1 record.
The first hire under Paul, Hallett came to Thomas More following the 1998 season and has helped Thomas More become the nation"s leader in winning percentage among schools that have played at least 10 years of football. In 14 seasons, Thomas More has an overall record of 101-42, a .711 winning percentage. Hallett is the second-longest tenured coach in the history of the program, trailing only Vic Clark, who spent nine seasons with the team as the head coach from 1990-98.
Lee said Hallett"s reputation and proven leadership abilities is a tremendous asset to the college. "Mike is a man of great character who will serve as an excellent role model for current as well as future student-athletes at Thomas More," Lee said. "Mike"s accomplishments as an assistant coach at Thomas More are well documented and I see no one better suited to continue the tradition of success than someone who has played such a big part in establishing that tradition."
Although the 2004 season will mark his first as a college head coach, Hallett does have five years experience as a head coach at the high school level. He came to Thomas More after having served as the head coach at Wooster (Ohio) High School for two seasons in 1997 and 1998. Prior to Wooster, he was the assistant head coach at Akron (Ohio) Coventry High School from 1994-96.
"I feel truly blessed to have earned the appointment as head coach at Thomas More," stated Hallett. "I would like to thank Dr. Lee, our President, Terry Connor, our Athletic Director, and the entire college community for their support in this period of transition. We are currently contacting all of our returning players, assuring them that we here at Thomas More are moving forward, and are fully expecting to regain our place in the national playoffs in 2004.
"Our first five seasons here have been highlighted by a number of great wins and an established tradition of winning on and off the field. The academic successes for our players have been well documented, as our players have achieved a GPA higher than that of the student body on campus. We feel the bar has been set high, and we will continue to raise the bar throughout the off-season."
This past spring, the football team had a team grade point average of 2.70, the highest in the 14-year history of the program, a span of 26 semesters. "I am impressed with his (Mike"s) commitment to student-athletes academic success as well as their athletic success," Lee said.
As the team"s offensive coordinator, the Saints finished in the NCAA final statistical rankings for rushing offense in four out of five seasons, including back-to-back top-20 finishes. Thomas More boasted the third-best rushing offensive in Division III with an average of 301.2 yards per game in 2001, following the 2000 season in which the Saints ranked 18th in rushing offense at 233.6 yards per game.
Born on Dec. 5, 1968 in Orrville, Ohio, Michael Joseph Hallett attended Kent State before transferring to Mount Union. While at Mount Union, Hallett started at defensive tackle for the Purple Raiders and was a team captain as a junior and senior. In his final two seasons, Mount Union totaled a 26-1 record and won the first of its four national championships in the 1990s in 1993. He was a two-time All-American, a two-time All-Ohio Athletic Conference selection, a two-time All-Academic honoree and was twice named the conference"s Most Outstanding Defensive Lineman. Hallett graduated from Mount Union in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Education.