RAPID CITY, S.D. --- Stacy Collins, former South Dakota Mines head football coach has landed a job on the coaching staff of Penn State University, a historical power program in the Big Ten conference.
Collins has been in college coaching for over 20 years, starting in the late '90s with Western Oregon and the Vienna Vikings of the European League of Football, before making his way to South Dakota Mines for his first stint. From there he bounced around the staffs of Western Washington, Idaho State, Southern Oregon, Central Washington, and Portland State before being named the South Dakota Mines head football coach in 2012.
Collins was the head coach of the football program for four years, from 2012-2015, charged with transitioning the program from the NAIA to the Division II level, amassing a record of 16-27, including two six-win seasons and laying the groundwork for future success in the program.
Under Collins' direction in 2014, South Dakota Mines set single-season school records with 5,282 total yards, 3,540 passing yards and 286 first downs, and led all of college football in red zone efficiency. SDSM also set single-game school records with 674 total yards vs. William Jewell and 481 passing yards vs. Northwestern. Furthermore, SDM set the single-season school record for points scored with 386 during the 2013 campaign.
As members of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference in 2014 and 2015, South Dakota Mines had 14 all-conference honorees, highlighted by quarterback Trent McKinney, who twice earned first-team honors and was named the conference's Newcomer of the Year in 2014. Collins also mentored a pair of record-setting kickers at South Dakota Mines in Devon Jones and Kolten Jelden.
Following his time at South Dakota Mines, Collins has served in various roles at Division 1, Mountain West Conference institutions in Utah State University from 2016-2020 to his most recent position as Special Teams Coordinator at Boise State University in 2021.
At Penn State, Collins will serve as the special teams coordinator in addition to coaching the outside linebackers and nickels.
About South Dakota Mines
The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology is a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) and NCAA Division II offering 11 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic programs. The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is a premier NCAA Division II conference with 15 members, as well as four associate members, located in the states of California, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Utah.
