VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – William Paterson head football coach Jerry Flora will return as the head coach of the Division III All-Stars in the second-annual Dream Bowl Senior All-Star Game to be held on Monday, Jan. 20, 2014, at the Virginia Beach Sportsplex. The game will feature the top seniors from NCAA Division III institutions around the country.

A year ago, Flora served as one of the two head coaches for the inaugural Dream Bowl contested Jan. 21 in Roanoke, Va., and three of his charges -- Joseph Cordato, Javon Hodges and John Matthews – participated in the event.

Flora just completed his sixth season as the Pioneers' head coach following six years on the William Paterson sideline as an assistant. His 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.

Six Pioneers garnered all-New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) accolades as WP finished 5-5 during the 2012 campaign, putting together one of the program's best statistical years offensively in recent memory. German Decena was named one of the 10 male national finalists for the Diverse: Issues In Higher Education 2013 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award, was one of the faces of the University's branding/advertising campaign and was an academic all-district selection.

Nine individuals picked up all-conference awards in 2011, and 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 Leer Biddle, and the program collected seven academic all-conference awards, led by Decena's first of three 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 Joel 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. Rivera, and later Biddle, also represented WP at the D3 Football Senior Classic.

During 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 Doug 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.

For all of the latest information on the Pioneers, visit http://www.wpupioneers.com, http://www.facebook.com/wpupioneers, http://www.youtube.com/thewpupioneers and http://twitter.com/wpupioneers.