Williams College Names New Football Coach

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA –Williams College Athletic Director Lisa Melendy has announced the appointment of Mark Raymond as the college’s next head football coach. Raymond, who has served for the past six years as head coach at St. Lawrence University in Canton, N.Y., will begin in his new role at Williams in March.

“Mark brings with him a wealth of coaching experience that will serve our students well,” said Melendy, who led a search process that considered 100 candidates and brought four finalists to interview on campus. “Students, faculty, and staff across campus were impressed by his professional demeanor, his clear passion for teaching and coaching football, as well as his inspiring vision for the program. I couldn’t be more pleased that Mark will be leading the football team as we begin the next phase of this team’s storied tradition.”

Raymond comes to Williams having helped build St. Lawrence’s team into one of the premier rising powers in the east region, having won at least seven games in three consecutive seasons for the first time in nearly 40 years. When he arrived at St. Lawrence, the Saints had posted just one winning season in the past 20 years and had not participated in the NCAA Tournament in 28 years. In 2015, the team earned national and regional rankings throughout the season, and finished the season ranked in the top 10 nationally in four categories: passes intercepted (fifth), tackles for a loss (sixth), average punt return yards (8 th), and turnovers gained (9th).

Raymond was twice named the Liberty Conference Coach of the Year, including in 2015. Under his leadership, 66 St. Lawrence players have earned All-Liberty League Honors and 97 Saints have been named to the Liberty League All-Academic Squad.

"I'm thrilled that we've been able to attract Mark Raymond to Williams,” said Williams President Adam Falk. “All of us are impressed by the sharp upward trajectory of the St. Lawrence football program under his leadership. I'm looking forward to Mark bringing to Williams the same commitment to excellence he showed as head coach at St. Lawrence, both on and off the football field.”

Raymond earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Buffalo (where he majored in health and human services and lettered in football for three years) and a master’s in education from St. Lawrence. Aside from a brief stint from 2007 to 2010 as a special agent with the U.S. Secret Service, Raymond has spent the past two and a half decades coaching football, nearly all of it at the Division III level.

His intercollegiate coaching career began at St. Lawrence, where he served as an assistant coach for three years (August of 1993 until May 1996) working with linebackers, defensive ends, and wide receivers and serving as recruiting coordinator.

He spent two years at Syracuse University as a graduate assistant coach and head strength coach before taking an associate head coaching position at SUNY Canton in 1998. Then in 1999 he moved to Ithaca College, spending seven years as defensive coordinator. During his time there, Ithaca went 59-19, won five conference titles, and appeared in three NCAA Tournaments.

"I am extremely excited to be named the head football coach at Williams College,” Raymond said. “I would like to thank Athletic Director Lisa Melendy and the entire search committee for this wonderful opportunity. I am honored to join an institution so renowned for its academic and athletic excellence. I cannot wait to meet the team and start preparing for the 2016 season."

Raymond expects to arrive in Williamstown in early March accompanied by his wife Sarah and daughters Reese and Sydney.

Coggins Classic Golf Tournament Helps Bennington Project Independence

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
05:37PM / Saturday, September 05, 2026

This was the tournament's fifth year; it combined with the independence project's annual golf outing this year. 

BENNINGTON, Vt. — Thirty teams hit the green for this year's Coggins Classical Golf tournament, helping Coggins Auto raise money for Bennington Project Independence.

Coggins Auto Marketing Director Valerie Harrington said the fifth annual tournament, which was held on Aug. 28, continued a tradition of community-driven giving. 

Harrington first helped organize the tournament in 2022. She hoped to raise $10,000, which would allow the auto group to leverage a $10,000 Toyota match program. 

The tournament has successfully raised more than $50,000 the last two years, with last year's beneficiary the Cancer Center Community Crusaders. 

This year, it raised more than $50,000 alone, including meeting the Toyota match the third year in a row.

Harrington said she wanted to help the nonprofits in the area, especially those that might get overlooked.

"The idea of it was especially for those nonprofits that are pretty small and don't have really the funds or the means or understanding of how to put on a golf tournament, and to give them an opportunity to get at least $20,000 in funds that year, which is huge for a lot of them, and it's really grown since then," she said.

"There's a lot of nonprofits that are big and big and loud and you know about them, but there are so many more that are like people don't even realize they exist. But what they do is super critical and important to the people in our community."

Local nonprofits submit an application each year explaining their mission and what they need to succeed. Coggins employees narrow the submissions to their top three choices and then let the community decide who they should pick.

Bennington has more than 100 nonprofits, and it can be hard to keep track of them all, but with the tournament, Coggins is able to have many people learn and see the needs in their community and nonprofits they haven't heard about.

"Even if they don't win, they've got in front of thousands of people who read their story and know what they need and know what they do to just spread awareness," Harrington said. "And then by having the community vote on it, then we know for sure what we're doing is what the community wants the most at that given time ...

"The community is saying, 'Hey, we want this nonprofit. We like what they're trying to do. Let's give them help because it's the decision of hundreds to thousands of people rather than just a handful of us.'"

Bennington Project Independence is an adult day service for individuals and families facing the challenges of aging or disability. This year the organization is combining its 13th annual golf tournament with Coggins.

"I think they've affected a lot of people's lives and helped a lot of families because it's an adult day facility for not just the elderly but also special needs," Harrington said. "So what they do every day to keep those folks' lives enriched while giving the family a break or allowing them to go to work and do these things. It's really important."

The 2027 tournament submissions will open in March of 2027.