Hall of Fame
Jim Milhon is considered by many as the man who saved football at Azusa Pacific. When he assumed the reigns of Cougar football in 1978, he inherited a downtrodden and directionless program that was dealing with the whispers of being dropped from the college's intercollegiate athletic program. In his 17 years as the Cougar head coach, Milhon turned Cougar football into a power with national recognition and respect that resulted in campus pride. In turn, football became a staple of the university life. Milhon was the head coach from 1978-1994, and over the course of his career, he guided the Cougars to an 82-69-4 record. He enjoyed ten winning seasons, including seven in a row when the Cougars posted a 45-17-3 record from 1980-1986. He had 9 teams ranked in the NAIA Top 20, highlighted by a No. 3 ranking in October of 1985, when the Cougars went to post a school-best 7-1-1 record. Throughout his coaching career, he coached 17 first or second-team NAIA All-Americans, including eventual NFL players Christian Okoye (Chiefs) and Doug Barnett (Rams). He coached 13 NAIA All-America Scholar Athletes, including his 2 sons, Jeff and Jon, and more than 50 of his players went on to coach either high school or college football. In 1980 he was selected the NAIA District Coach of the Year after guiding the Cougars to an 8-2 record, at that time the best season in program history. During his tenure with the Cougars, his teams broke 39 school records.
Milhon Coaching Record at Azusa Pacific
Year Record Home Away PF PA
1978 3-6-0 1-3 2-3 267 223
1979 3-4-1 1-2-1 2-2 132 164
1980 8-2-0 4-1 4-1 214 107
1981 7-3-0 4-1 3-2 223 130
1982 5-3-0 4-0 1-3 192 103
1983 6-3-0 3-1 3-2 190 128
1984 6-4-0 4-0 2-4 177 159
1985 7-1-1 3-1-1 4-0 310 153
1986 5-2-2 3-1-1 2-1-1 252 154
1987 2-8-0 0-4 2-4 143 279
1988 6-2-0 3-1 3-1 182 126
1989 5-4-0 4-1 1-3 200 168
1990 6-3-0 4-2 2-1 227 164
1991 4-5-0 1-2 3-3 146 238
1992 2-7-0 1-4 1-3 209 282
1993 3-6-0 2-2 1-4 193 217
1994 3-6-0 1-5 2-1 176 323
Career 81-69-4 43-31-3 38-38-1 3433 3118
