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ROME, Ga. – Shorter University formally introduced new head coach Aaron Kelton on Wednesday at a press conference and reception held on the University's campus.

In attendance were members of the local media, Shorter faculty and staff, members of the Hawks football team and staff, and friends of Shorter.

"I believe this is where God wants me to be," said Kelton, who comes to Shorter after being the head coach at Williams (Mass.) College and has coached on every NCAA level for the past 20 years. "This is where we can have the most influence on young people. We are going to teach about Christ and living a Christian lifestyle through football.""

"One of the joys I get as president," Shorter president Dr. Don Dowless said about the hiring of Kelton, "is to introduce stellar people who have prayed about coming to Shorter University and serving Jesus Christ in crucial roles."

Athletic Director Kim Graham echoed that statement saying the first thing the university looked for in a football coach was a Christian faith as well as having the credentials to lead the program.

"He has tremendous football knowledge," said Graham. "He is well known in football circles. You won't believe the number of calls I received on him."

"I'd like to thank Dr. Dowless and Kim (Graham) for hiring me," said Kelton. "We are ready to get this thing going."

Kelton becomes the second head coach in the Hawks' 11-year history, taking over the reins of the NCAA Division II team that competes in the Gulf South Conference from Phil Jones, who started the program in 2005 and retired in December to close out a coaching career that spanned 47 years.
               
The Hawks' head coach also sets of Gulf South Conference history, becoming the GSC's first-ever African American head football coach.

Kelton spoke about the challenges that Shorter faces in the Gulf South Conference, as well as the goals that the program will set. According to the new head coach, the coaching staff will make competing in the GSC and earning a spot in the national playoffs a constant goal.

"Those will always be goals of ours," Kelton said. "I think that the league is one of the most competitive in the country. We are going to go out and perform."
 
Born and raised in Boston, Kelton graduated from Wellesley High School, where he was a three-sport athlete, competing in football, basketball, and baseball, then attended Springfield (Mass.) College where he obtained a bachelor's degree in psychology and lettered all four years for the Pride in football, starting his final two years at quarterback.
 
After breaking into the coaching ranks on the high school level at his alma mater and at Wayland (Mass.) High School, Kelton joined the college ranks in 1996 as an assistant at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, spent four seasons on the staffs at Division II Clarion and Concord universities and from 2001-05 served as the defensive coordinator at Virginia State, a Division II program that competes in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA).

In 2006, he was hired as the defensive backs coach at Division I Ivy League member Columbia University and in 2008 became the Lions' defensive coordinator for two seasons before assuming his first head coaching stint at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., in 2010.
 
Kelton made an immediate statement in his first season with the Ephs, which competes in the New England Small College Athletic Association, leading the team to a perfect 8-0 record, the first ever recorded by a first-year head coach in the school's 125-year history, and was named the 2010 NESCAC Coach of the Year. He also served as an assistant professor of physical education at Williams, where he posted a 23-25 record.
 
During his career, Kelton received four NFL Bill Walsh Fellowships, which enabled him to serve as a member of the coaching staffs of the Arizona Cardinals in 2009, Indianapolis Colts in 2007, Jacksonville Jaguars in 2008, and the Miami Dolphins in 2013. He also attended the NCAA Expert Coaches Academy in Miami in May 2006.

He is currently working on completing master's degree in integrated studies from Virginia State and he and his wife Charlotte, who was on hand for the press conference, are the proud parents of a daughter, Kelsi.

Kelton emphasized that both his family and football program will be involved on Shorter's campus and in the Rome community.

"We are looking forward to plenty of success, both on and off the field," he said.

Shorter opens its 2016 football season on September 3rd when the Hawks travel to Finley Stadium to face the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Mocs.