ROANOKE, Va. – William Paterson head coach Jerry Flora will serve as the head coach of the Division III All-Stars in the inaugural Dream Bowl Senior All-Star Game to be held Monday, Jan. 21, 2013, at 2:00 p.m. at Salem Stadium in Roanoke, Va.  The game will feature the top seniors from NCAA Division III and NAIA institutions.

Flora just completed his fifth season as the Pioneers' head coach following six years on the William Paterson sideline as an assistant.  He returned to his role as the program's offensive coordinator while working with the tight ends during the 2012 season, leading WP to a 5-5 record while seeing six of his charges earn all-conference accolades and German Decena garnering a spot on the Capital One/College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-District Team.

Flora's continued emphasis on building a family-like atmosphere, all while creating a deeper sense of commitment on and off the field, has paid dividends for the program's student-athletes. In five years, 42 Pioneers have earned all-New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) status, including eight first-team selections.  Six players have competed in national senior all-star games -- Joel Rivera (2009), Leer Biddle (2010), Mike Merkh (2011), Doug Dudek (2011) and Damian DiIorio (2011) in the D3 Football Senior Classic, and Jim Hamill and Dudek in the 2011 All-American Bowl.

During the 2011 campaign, nine Pioneers garnered all-conference accolades, while in 2010, WP got off to a 4-1 start to the season, the program's best since 1992.  Seven Pioneers were all-league honorees, including D3football.com first-team all-American cornerback Biddle, and the program collected seven academic all-conference awards, led by Decena's first of two selections as an Arthur Ashe., Jr. National Sports Scholar.

In 2009, the Pioneers were postseason eligible for the second time in three years with a 5-5 overall mark and a 4-5 record in the NJAC.  Eleven of his charges were selected to the all-conference team, including first-team wide receiver Rivera, who earned an invitation to the New York Jets' rookie mini-camp.  In the classroom, five Pioneers were acknowledged for their achievements by the league office, including Arthur Ashe, Jr. National Sports Scholar Dan Jones.

In his first season at the helm, Flora led the Pioneers to a 4-6 overall record during the 2008 campaign, including a 3-6 slate in NJAC action.  William Paterson posted a 4-1 home record, the most victories at Wightman Stadium since 1993 (4-2).  Eight members of the program earned all-NJAC laurels, including NJAC Defensive Rookie of the Year Dudek.  Flora's quick-strike philosophy made the Pioneers one of the most prolific passing offenses in the league, as William Paterson improved from second-to-last (127.6 yards/game) in the 2006 NJAC stats to fourth (218.9 yards/game) in the 2008 team rankings.  One of the beneficiaries of that change was quarterback Matt Marshall, who became the program's leader in single-season (20, 2008) and career (33, 2008-09) touchdown passes.

During the 2007 campaign, his last as an assistant coach, Flora coached the wide receivers and served as the recruiting coordinator, strength and conditioning coordinator and passing game coordinator while also managing many of the program's administrative duties.

In six years as a Pioneer assistant coach, Flora helped to recruit and develop several all-conference performers, including Pioneer all-time career receiving yardage and receptions leaders Kareen Moon, and later, Rivera.  During each of his six seasons, one of Flora's wide receivers earned all-conference laurels (Bryant Richardson, 2002-03; Moon, 2004-07).  In addition, he was instrumental in the recruitment of several other all-NJAC performers, including former standouts Chris Schule (2009), Keith Sayball (2009), Jeffrey Arista (2008), Chuck Patterson (2007), Frank Musolino (2007), Shadee Davis (2005), Tim Dolan (2006), Dan Casasnovas (2005-06) and Tom Larsen (2003, 2005).

Prior to arriving at William Paterson, Flora coached at Division I-AA Iona College (1992-96, 1998-2001), mentoring the wide receivers.  Also the special teams coordinator and alumni relations liaison, he helped lead his alma mater to the inaugural Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) title in 1993.  Before coaching the Gaels, Flora was the offensive line coach at FDU-Florham (1997-98).

Flora was a three-year starter at offensive tackle at Iona before emerging as the starting tight end his senior year, earning an invitation to try-out for the 1992 Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL.

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