East Central Community College head coach Ken Karcher will retire at season's end, he announced Wednesday.
"Ken Karcher is that coach who every mom and dad wants their son to play football for," said East Central Community College President Dr. Brent Gregory. "He not only is an outstanding football coach, but a man of integrity and a great role model for the hundreds of young men who have come through his program the past decade."
Karcher has led the Decatur, Miss., based program for 10 seasons, and oversaw two of the best seasons in ECCC history. In 2015, the Warriors reached the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges semifinals and won the Heart of Texas Bowl, marking the program's best record since 1999 and its first bowl win since '96.
The following year, ECCC won the MACJC South Division title for the first time in school history.
Karcher won MACJC coach of the year honors following both seasons. He produced six JuCo All-Americans, two JuCo All-Americans, and 79 players that went on to play at four-year universities.
Karcher's career will be honored at the Warriors' final home game, next Thursday, Oct. 20, against Copiah-Lincoln. He spent 32 years in coaching, at levels ranging from high school to Division I to NFL Europe. Karcher was Eastern Michigan's offensive coordinator when he landed the ECCC job in 2013.
"East Central and Decatur will always hold a special place in our hearts, and I am grateful for each person who has blessed my life over the last 10 years," Karcher said. "The memories I will hold close to my heart are about the people I encountered along the way."
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.