– Coming on the heels of the team's first winning record in 12 seasons (since 2003), Northern Colorado head coachhas agreed to a new five-year contract which will lock him in to guide the Bears football program through 2020."Coach Collins has demonstrated tremendous integrity and is building a program that Bears fans can be proud of, both on and off the field," Director of Athleticssaid. "We are certainly not satisfied with where we are, but feel last season was another step in the right direction and we expect the progression to continue both on the field and in the classroom."Collins took his alma mater to a 6-5 record in 2015, the first winning season UNC has had since joining the Division I FCS level."It's a privilege to represent our university, our program and our fans here at the University of Northern Colorado," said Collins. "I appreciate (athletic director)and our administration allowing me to continue to create a winning culture both on and off the field and build a program that will compete with the best in one of the toughest conferences at the FCS level."The head coach has put the pieces in place to continue the team's success hiring Associate Head Coach and new Defensive Coordinator,after former DC, Larry Kerr announced his retirement. Jones returns to Northern Colorado for his second stint with the Bears after being in charge of the defensive line at San Jose State.The Athletic Department also signed off on a new Director of Sports Performance,who comes to the Bears from Southern Utah, where he primarily worked with the 2015 Big Sky Championship football team.Since taking over at Northern Colorado, Collins' teams have showed great progress in the classroom as well. Under his leadership, they have raised the team GPA from a 2.51 to a 2.83, the highest the GPA has ever been in the Division I era.Northern Colorado will play five home games in 2016 starting with the season opener on Sept. 3 against Rocky Mountain College. The Bears will also host Northern Arizona (Oct. 1), Sacramento State (Oct. 22), North Dakota (Nov. 5) and Montana (Nov. 12) at home.