St. Thomas football coach Glenn Caruso has been named the Division III National Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches’ Association.

Caruso’s Tommies went 14-1 this season, which included a trip to the Salem, Virginia for the 2015 Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, where they fell to Mount Union 49-35. Caruso said he was humbled by the award, but that it doesn’t define him or the team.

“They’re wonderful, but at the end of the day we’re a team that’s built on people and thoughts, not trophies and stuff,” Caruso said. “It’s great validation for the work that’s put in, but it’s all about going back to the drawing board and putting the work in.”

This is the second time Caruso has received the award. The first came after the 2012 season, which was also the first time he led St. Thomas to the national championship game.

This is also the sixth time Caruso has received a national coaching honor. He was named the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year for three-straight years starting in 2010 and American Football Monthly honored Caruso as D-III Coach of the Year in 2011. Caruso said the selection process makes the award significant.

“Any award of this magnitude draws an enormous gravity, however this one has a special distinction…to be chosen by your peers is absolutely humbling,” Caruso said.

Members of the AFCA — coaches at four-year colleges in the association’s five divisions — vote on the winners.

Caruso has been with the Tommies for eight seasons and has a record of 87-14. During his time at St. Thomas, the team earned four MIAC titles and had six playoff appearances.

Caruso is one of just two MIAC coaches who have received the honor. The other recipient is former St. John’s coach John Gagliardi, who was named Division III Coach of the Year after leading the Johnnies to a national championship title in 2003.

Caruso said coaches shouldn’t be judge on the accolades they earned, but the legacy they leave behind.

“There’s a lot of things that we work for, but at the end of the day our job is to simply understand that we’ll be judged not on those things that we collect, but simply by those things that we leave behind,” Caruso said.

This year’s other winning coaches are Clemson’s Dabo Swinney (FBS), Jacksonville State’s John Grass (FCS), Northwest Missouri State’s Adam Dorrel (Division II) and Marian’s Mark Henninger (NAIA).