Tweet #theGAC  BROOKFIELD, Ill. – Harding head coach Paul Simmons was named the 2025 Don Hansen National Coach of the Year for the second time in three seasons, highlighting a group of seven Bisons honored on the Don Hansen NCAA Division II All-America Team released Thursday.

Simmons, who previously won the award during Harding's 2023 national championship campaign, has led the Bisons to a perfect 15-0 record and a berth in Saturday's title game against No. 1 Ferris State. Under his guidance, the Bisons secured their third straight Great American Conference championship and have maintained a top-2 national ranking throughout the postseason.

The Don Hansen team carries out the legacy of long-time small college football advocate Don Hansen, who passed away in 2010. Hansen started and published Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette for three decades, selecting NCAA Division II All-America teams for the first time in 1988.

Harding faces Ferris State in the NCAA Division II National Championship game Saturday at 3 p.m. in McKinney, Texas.