ISU's Berry To Coach Army

December 16, 1999 / 5:42 PM EST / CBS/AP

Todd Berry, who rebuilt Illinois State football and led the school to the Division I-AA playoffs the past two seasons, is the new coach at Army.

Berry replaces Bob Sutton, who was fired two days after Army lost to Navy on Dec. 4 in the 100th meeting between the teams.

"Coach Todd Berry is an inspiring coach," Army superintendent Lt. Gen. Daniel Christman said in announcing Berry's hiring today. "Anyone who comes into contact with him cannot help but be impressed with his commitment to this institution."

Berry reunites with athletic director Rick Greenspan, Illinois State's athletic director for six years and the man who hired Berry in 1995. Greenspan took the Army AD job in April and fired Sutton after the 19-9 loss to Navy.

"I have never been as inspired by a place until I got here," Berry said. "I expect that in the near future we'll be 11-0. Anything else would be an injustice to this institution."

Greenspan said the 39-year-old coach had all the attributes West Point was looking for. He said Berry has "passion, recruiting skills, he's a teacher of the game, a tireless worker, and someone who appreciates the values of Army."

Berry rebuilt Illinois State football, leading the Redbirds to the Gateway Conference title this season and an 11-3 record. Illinois State lost to Georgia Southern 28-17 in last week's I-AA semifinals.

Berry was voted the league's coach of the year. His overall record at the school is 24-24 in four seasons.

"He's been just incredible for our program," Illinois State assistant athletic director Kenny Mossman said.

He was an assistant coach for 13 years before taking the job at Illinois State, including four years as offensive coordinator at East Carolina. He also was an assistant at Southeast Missouri State, Mississippi State and Tennessee-Martin.

Sutton, Army's coach for nine years, was fired just three seasons after guiding Army to a school-record 10 wins. His record against Navy was 6-3, and he left with a 44-55-1 record.