(Tuesday, December 2; Sioux Center, Iowa) The American Football Coaches Association has announced the 2025 Regional Coach of the Year winners and Dordt's Joel Penner has earned the honor for NAIA Region 4. Penner is one of 18 coaches to earn Regional Coach of the Year honors for the first time. 

Penner is in his 10^th season coaching the Defenders and guided the program to a GPAC Championship for the first time.  This year's team finished 9-1 in the league and has tied the program's single season record for wins with a final 9-2 record.

Penner began coaching the Defenders in 2016 and the team posted a program best five wins before its first non-losing record in 2017 with a 5-5 mark.  The 2018 team finished 7-3 and started a current run of eight straight seasons with seven wins or more. 

This year's team earned a NAIA playoff berth for the third time in program history and was no.11 in the most recent NAIA Coaches' Poll and is the no. 10 seed in the 20-team playoff field. 

Penner is 72-34 at Dordt and has a .679 winning percentage. The Defenders are one of 15 NAIA programs with nine straight seasons of .500 or better.

The AFCA will announce the 2025 National Coaches of the Year winners in FBS, FCS, Division II, Division III and NAIA on Monday, December 15. The Regional winners in each division are finalists for National Coach of the Year.