After nearly fifty years roaming the sidelines as an assistant or head coach, Tim Clifton has decided 2025 will be his final season.
With 32-years under his belt as the head coach at Mars Hill (D-II - NC), Clifton is the longest tenured head coach at the Division II level.
He has decided to step away at the end of the season to spend more time with his family.
"I have decided to retire after our 32 years here at Mars Hill and 49 years in coaching to spend more time with my family, especially our 4 grandchildren—we just had another brand new granddaughter this summer."
"My family and I want to thank Mars Hill University for giving us the opportunity to spend the last 32 years as the head football coach here at the university."
Since taking over the program in 1993, Clifton has become the winningest coach in program history and ranks second in the South Atlantic Conference in both overall wins and conference wins.
Clifton enters this fall with 173 wins to his name leading the program
He has mentored the conference's only winner of the Harlon Hill Trophy (Jonas Randolph in 2011), and over the years has mentored a remarkable 20 All-American players, and developed six players that have gone on to compete in the NFL.
After getting his start coaching at the junior high level, Clifton would go on to coach at Clarke Central HS (GA), the University of South Carolina, VMI, Fayetteville State, and Ferrum College before landing with the Mountain Lions.
Mars Hill will announce Clifton's successor in the coming days, the school's announcement shares.
Stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.