Chuck Broyles, who led Pittsburg State to four championship-game appearances in Division II football and a national title in 1991, retired Wednesday after 20 seasons as head football coach at the school.

Broyles also is taking an administrative leave from duties as athletics director, a position he has held at Pittsburg State since 1996.

Broyles, a former chair of the NCAA Football Rules Committee, led the Gorillas to 15 appearances in the Division II Football Championship, including runner-up finishes in 1992, 1995 and 2004. He also led the Gorillas to nine Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association championships.

In announcing his retirement from coaching, Broyles said he is proud of his achievements at Pittsburg State, the success of student-athletes in the football program and of assistant coaches who have advanced in the profession. He said that while the decision to retire was difficult, “it is the right time…I’m at peace with my decision.”

Pittsburg State President Steve Scott said Broyles had begun talking of retiring “some time back.”

“The evolution of the PSU football program since Chuck Broyles was named head coach in December of 1989 has been nothing short of amazing,” Scott said. “Each year, the bar has been raised – for success on the playing field, for success in the classroom, for community partnerships, and for excellence in facilities. That march to the top pushed other universities to raise their own aspirations, always with Pittsburg State University as the model.

“The result is a conference that is one of the toughest and most balanced in the country. Whether it is in the MIAA or in other conferences across the U.S., Pittsburg State football is one of the programs other universities use to measure their own.”

Broyles’ 198-47-2 record ranks seventh among active Division II football coaches in victories, and his .806 winning percentage ranks first among active Division II coaches with at least 10 years as a head coach, and among the top 10 active coaches in all divisions.

He served as the Football Rules Committee’s chair from 2004 to 2006, overseeing the implementation of instant-replay review by game officials and major changes in rules relating to the play clock.

The school appointed assistant head coach and offensive coordinator Tim Beck, a member of the football staff for 24 years, as acting head football coach. It also named track and cross country coach Russ Jewett, an associate athletics director, as acting AD.