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| Wittenberg athletics photo by John Coffman |
Wittenberg University athletic director Brian Agler announced today that head football coach Jim Collins is no longer with the university, effective immediately.
The Tigers are 2-5 overall, 1-4 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, and have lost four consecutive games. That includes a 43-40 setback at the hands of Denison this past week.
Collins was hired in November of 2021 to replace Joe Fincham, who retired after compiling a record of 224-51 in 25 seasons. Collins played wide receiver under Fincham and was a 1988 graduate of Wittenberg.
Wittenberg was 20-17 in three-plus seasons under Collins. Collins is 155-150 for his career as a head football coach among multiple stops in Division III and in Division II. From 1997-2007, Collins served as the head coach at Capital, where he was named Ohio Athletic Conference Coach of the Year on three separate occasions (2001, 2003, 2006). While there, Collins led his team to three NCAA Division III playoff appearances (2005, 2006, 2007), and his team was ranked in the final D3football.com Top 25 three times (No. 3 in 2006, No. 5 in 2005, No. 13 in 2007).
“We have made the decision to pursue new leadership of our football program,” Agler said. “We have informed the team and have asked Joe Nemith to serve as interim head coach for the remainder of the 2025 season."
Nemith has served as the Tigers’ defensive passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach since 2023. He is a 1997 graduate of Malone and has more than 28 years of coaching experience.
A national search for Collins' successor will commence soon, according to the school's news release.