WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. (AP) – Williams College on Thursday promoted assistant football coach Mike Whalen to head football coach.

Whalen succeeds Dick Farley, who retired after more than three decades with the team.

“The committee and I were thrilled with the level of professionalism that Mike Whalen has shown throughout this process,” said Williams athletic director Harry Sheehy.

Whalen has been an assistant football coach at Williams since 1997. He has also been the school’s head wrestling coach and an assistant professor of physical education.

Farley, his predecessor, said Whalen had “the perfect pedigree for the job.”

Whalen is a 1983 graduate of Wesleyan, Conn., where he was the captain of the wrestling and football teams. There, he earned All-New England and All-American honors three times.

Whalen began his coaching career at Springfield, but he has also coached at Penn, Lafayette and Colgate.

At Williams, Whalen has had at least one offensive lineman named All-NESCAC First Team each year. He added the duties of offensive coordinator to his responsibilities in 2001.

Farley has coached football at Williams for 32 years, the last 17 as head coach. Williams went 114-19-3 – a winning percentage of .849 – with Farley in charge.

After losing his first three games at Williams, Farley went 128 games without suffering back-to-back losses.