UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. -- TV5's Jason Fielder is confirming that Saginaw Valley State University has announced Jim Collins as its new football coach during a 2 p.m. press conference Friday.

Collins has spent the last 11 years at Capital University In Columbus, Ohio.

Collins was 66-51 in 11 seasons on the sidelines and transformed Capital into an elite Division III program.

During his time with the Crusaders, he racked up numerous awards including Ohio Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.

"This is one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make as the last 11 years at Capital University have been an outstanding experience," Collins said on the university’s Web site.

Collins is replacing Randy Awrey, who was let go after SVSU announced that the football program committed "level one secondary violations" in November.

Collins has ties to the Michigan-area. He began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Central Michigan University from 1989 to 1991.

In 1994, he accepted his first college head coaching job at the University of Dubuque in Dubuque, Iowa