RIPON, Wisconsin – Rick Coles of the Ripon football program has received the Meritorious Service Award from the Midwest Conference.
 
The Meritorious Service Award honors an individual for significant contributions and outstanding service to the Midwest Conference and its member institutions.
 
Coles recently completed his 26th season as an assistant coach for Ripon's football program, where he most recently served as the associate head coach and the offensive line coach. The 2024 season was his 46th and final campaign as a coach, and his 40th season coaching at the collegiate level – with all 40 years coming in the Midwest Conference.
 
While at Ripon, he was the offensive coordinator from 2004-19. He spearheaded a Red Hawk offense that finished in the top third of the league in total offense, scoring offense and average yards per play nine times apiece.
 
He also serves as a Professor in the Exercise Science department at the College, the Pieper Family Chair for Servant Leadership and he was the Chair of the department for seven years. Though he retired from coaching following the 2024 season, Coles will remain an adjunct professor at Ripon in the spring of 2025.
 
Coles has coached at one-third of the current full-time Midwest Conference institutions, and four total past and present MWC schools. Before coming to Ripon, he was the head coach of Midwest Conference rival Lawrence University from 1993-98, where his offense was consistently ranked among the nation's best. Prior to that, he served as the offensive coordinator at Cornell College, where he helped the Rams win the 1992 MWC Championship with a 10-0 record.
 
He began his collegiate coaching career at Coe College, where he served as an assistant coach for five years. In his first season with the Kohawks, Coles helped the team win the MWC Championship, culminating in an NCAA playoff appearance. He was also the head wrestling coach at Coe from 1985-90, where he won the Midwest Conference championship in 1989.
 
Coles' Midwest Conference roots run back to his collegiate playing days, where he was a first-team All-Midwest Conference offensive lineman at Coe.
 
In addition to his on-campus service, Coles has been an active member of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) for over 35 years and currently serves as the chair of the AFCA Division III Assistant Coaches Committee. He was inducted into the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) Coaches Hall of Fame in 2014 and is also a member of the Athletic Hall of Fame at his alma mater, Linn-Mar (Iowa) High School.
 
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