Category Archives: Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year

Cincinnati’s Fickell wins 2021 FWAA-Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award

by • Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year • Tags: ,

DALLAS – Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell has taken the Bearcats to unmatched feats this season, qualifying for the College Football Playoff as the nation’s only undefeated team (13-0) and the first so-called ‘Group of 5’ program to do so while winning a second straight American Athletic Conference championship. For those achievements, Fickell has been named the recipient of the 2021 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award by the Football Writers Association of America and the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Fickell is a first-time winner of the Eddie Robinson Award in his second straight season as a finalist. He is Cincinnati’s first winner of the award as well and the second coach from the American Athletic Conference to win the honor. He was selected from voting by the entire FWAA membership from a record field of 12 other finalists from all 10 FBS conferences and independent programs. Then-head coach Brian Kelly was a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award at Cincinnati in 2009.

The other finalists were Blake Anderson of Utah State, Dave Aranda of Baylor, Thomas Hammock of NIU, Jim Harbaugh of Michigan, Billy Napier of Louisiana, Pat Narduzzi of Pitt, Nick Saban of Alabama, Kalani Sitake of BYU, Kirby Smart of Georgia, Jeff Traylor of UTSA, Mel Tucker of Michigan State, and Kyle Whittingham of Utah.

Fickell will receive the iconic bust of the late Eddie Robinson, a College Football Hall of Fame coach at Grambling State University for 55 years and winner of 408 career games, at a Jan. 8, 2022, reception in Indianapolis prior to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.

Luke Fickell

Prior to that, Fickell’s No. 4 Bearcats will face top-ranked Alabama in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas, on Dec. 31 for a berth in the national championship game.

“On behalf of the Sugar Bowl Committee, I want to congratulate Luke Fickell on an outstanding season,” said Ralph Capitelli, the President of the Sugar Bowl Committee. “His accomplishments speak for themselves – the only undefeated team in the country, a conference championship and Cincinnati’s first trip to the College Football Playoff. More importantly, he’s conducted himself with class and demonstrated great sportsmanship throughout his career. He’s truly deserving of an award named for Louisiana’s own Coach Robinson.”

“The Eddie Robinson Family congratulates Luke Fickell and the University of Cincinnati football program on their historic 2021 season, and especially for winning this year’s ‘Eddie’ Award,” said Eddie Robinson III, coach Eddie Robinson’s grandson.

In a season of anticipation to see if the Bearcats could duplicate their banner 2020 results, Fickell led Cincinnati to a 13-0 mark as it heads into the CFP Semifinals headlined by a win at No. 5 Notre Dame that cemented the Bearcats’ place among the national title contenders. Cincinnati then maintained that standard as one of only two teams that list in the Top 10 in the FBS in scoring offense (8th at 39.2 ppg) and scoring defense (t-4th at 16.1) which aided another undefeated run through the American Athletic Conference with 12 All-AAC first-team selections.

Fickell is in his fifth season at Cincinnati and won the AAC’s Coach of the Year this season for a third time within the last four years. He is 47-14 at Cincinnati, including a 43-6 mark since the start of the 2018 season. Only a final-seconds loss to Georgia in last season’s Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl kept Cincinnati from back-to-back undefeated seasons going into this year’s postseason.

“I’m truly honored to receive this award. To be mentioned with one of the all-time greats in Eddie Robinson, who did so much for this profession, is humbling,” Fickell said. “I got into coaching because of the impact my coaches had on me when I was growing up, and my goal is to have a positive impact on my players. Any awards we receive are a credit to the success of our team as a whole and the hard work put in by all of our student-athletes.”

“It’s quite fitting that Cincinnati’s historic season is decorated with an honor for the coach who guided them through it,” said FWAA president Heather Dinich, a senior writer for ESPN.com. “To finish with a perfect 13-0 record speaks volumes about the program, the buy-in, and the discipline it takes to get there – and it all starts at the top. Congratulations to Luke Fickell.”

Fickell has guided Cincinnati to the highest rankings in school history as well. UC has been ranked as high as No. 2 in the AP and Coaches’ Polls earlier this fall and its current No. 4 ranking in the College Football Playoff Rankings is the highest ever by a non-Power 5 school.

The Eddie Robinson Award is the second of two FWAA postseason honors won by Cincinnati this season. Standout cornerback Ahmad Gardner became Cincinnati’s first two-time FWAA All-American this season with only UC’s sixth all-time All-America honor. The AAC’s only other Eddie Robinson Award winner was UCF’s then-head coach Scott Frost in 2017.

The FWAA has presented a coaching award since the 1957 season when Ohio State’s Woody Hayes was named the first recipient. Beginning in 1997, the FWAA Coach of the Year Award has been named in honor of the late Robinson, a coaching legend at Grambling State University for 55 seasons.

Robinson, who passed away in 2007, won 70.7 percent of his games during his illustrious career. Robinson’s teams won or tied for 17 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) championships after joining the league in 1959. His Tigers won nine Black College Football Championships during his career spent all at the same school.

The Eddie Robinson Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 25 awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit ncfaa.org and @NCFAA on Twitter to learn more about the association.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 28 national champions, 99 Hall of Fame players, 51 Hall of Fame coaches and 19 Heisman Trophy winners in its 87-year history. The 88th Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic is scheduled to be played on Jan. 1, 2022 between Baylor and Ole Miss. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1.6 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting over $2.7 billion into the local economy in the last decade. For more information, visit AllstateSugarBowl.org.

Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of journalists, broadcasters, publicists, photographers and key executives in all areas of college football. The FWAA works to govern media access and gameday operations while presenting awards and honors, including an annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its programs and initiatives, contact Executive Director Steve Richardson at 214-870-6516 or tiger@fwaa.com.

2021 Eddie Robinson Award
• Thirteen finalists named for 2021 Eddie Robinson Award
• Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award | All-time winners

13 finalists named for 2021 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award

by • Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year • Tags: ,

DALLAS – The Football Writers Association of America, in conjunction with the Allstate Sugar Bowl, announced a record 13 finalists for the 2021 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award on Tuesday. Among the finalists are one former winner, three returning finalists from 2020, all four coaches competing in this season’s College Football Playoff, as well as four other coaches with teams playing in New Year’s Six Bowl games. Ten of the finalists led their teams to conference championships.

In alphabetical order the finalists are: Blake Anderson, Utah State; Dave Aranda, Baylor; Luke Fickell, Cincinnati; Thomas Hammock, NIU; Jim Harbaugh, Michigan; Billy Napier, Louisiana; Pat Narduzzi, Pitt; Nick Saban, Alabama; Kalani Sitake, BYU; Kirby Smart, Georgia; Jeff Traylor, UTSA; Mel Tucker, Michigan State; and Kyle Whittingham, Utah.

Saban is the dean of the 13 finalists as a two-time winner and now eight-time finalist. Fickell, who faces Saban in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl in a College Football Playoff semifinal, and Sitake were finalists last season. Harbaugh faces Smart in the other national semifinal, at the Capital One Orange Bowl on Dec. 31. Narduzzi takes on Tucker in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. Hammock faces last year’s Eddie Robinson Award winner, Jamey Chadwell of Coastal Carolina, in the Tailgreeter Cure Bowl. Aranda will lead his Baylor team into New Orleans to face Ole Miss in the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

“The Allstate Sugar Bowl is honored to remember a Louisiana legend by sponsoring the FWAA Coach of the Year Award named after Coach Robinson,” said Ralph Capitelli, Sugar Bowl Committee President. “In addition, we have the opportunity to give recognition to the best college coaches in the nation each year. We look forward to presenting the trophy to the winner in Indianapolis next month.”

The 13 finalists have been placed on a ballot which has been sent to the entire FWAA membership today. The 2021 recipient will be announced on Mon., Dec. 20. The official presentation will be at a reception Sat., Jan. 8, in Indianapolis prior to the College Football Playoff National Championship.

“We have a well-balanced group of finalists, geographically positioned across the country and coaches from all sizes of schools,” said FWAA Executive Director Steve Richardson. “Congratulations to all of the finalists for the great seasons they have had during the 2021 season.”

The FWAA has presented a coaching award since the 1957 season when Ohio State’s Woody Hayes was named the first recipient. The FWAA coaching award was named after the late Robinson, a coaching legend at Grambling State University for 55 seasons, in 1997.

A closer look at the 2021 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year finalists:

Blake Anderson, Utah State: Anderson, a first-time finalist, guided Utah State (10-3) to one of the best turnarounds in the nation in 2021 (plus-nine wins thus far) with the Mountain West Conference title in tow following a 1-5 record in 2020. Utah State faces Oregon State in the inaugural Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl presented by Stifel on Dec. 18. Picked to finish fifth in the Mountain Division in the preseason, the Aggies recorded 10 wins for just the fourth time in school history and became the first FBS team since 2013 to post a 7-0 road record. Anderson is the only first-year head coach out of 19 in the FBS to win 10 games. He is Utah State’s second all-time finalist and first since Gary Andersen in 2012.

Dave Aranda, Baylor: In Aranda’s second year the Bears (11-2) patiently pushed their way to the Big 12 title, tying for the country’s second-best turnaround with nine more wins following a 2-7 season in 2020 and will now face Ole Miss in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 2022. Picked eighth by media in the preseason, Baylor relied on Aranda’s strength – defense – as the Bears held opponents 11.6 points below their averages. A year after being last in rushing, the Big 12 rushing leaders are one of six teams with three wins over ranked teams this season. Aranda is the second finalist in the last three seasons for Baylor (Matt Rhule, 2019). Grant Teaff is the school’s only previous winner from 1974.

Luke Fickell, Cincinnati: Fickell returns as a finalist from 2020 after leading the Bearcats (13-0) to an historic College Football Playoff bid, a first for a so-called Group of 5 school. The American Athletic Conference champions are the No. 4 playoff seed and one of two teams to rank in the top 10 nationally in both scoring offense (8th, 39.2 ppg) and scoring defense (t-4th, 16.1). Cincinnati, 22-1 the past two seasons, has set school records for points (510) and touchdowns (70) and faces Alabama in the CFP semifinals at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl on Dec. 31. Cincinnati, which had Brian Kelly as a finalist in 2009, has never had an Eddie Robinson Award winner.

Thomas Hammock, Northern Illinois: Hammock and the Huskies (9-4) won the Mid-American Conference with a ‘worst-to-first’ season with another nine-game improvement following an 0-6 record in 2020. NIU won seven games by one score or less – four of them by two points or less – before easing past Kent State 41-23 last week for their fifth MAC title of the last 11 seasons. The nine wins are NIU’s most since 2014 as they head into the Tailgreeter Cure Bowl to face Coastal Carolina. Hammock is NIU’s second all-time finalist, joining Dave Doeren in 2012.

Jim Harbaugh, Michigan: Harbaugh guided the Wolverines (12-1) to their first Big Ten Championship Game with a resounding 42-27 win over then-No. 2 Ohio State, then earned Michigan its 43rd Big Ten title and a spot in the College Football Playoff with a runaway 42-3 win over Iowa in the title game. Michigan has the nation’s top turnaround thus far with 10 additional wins heading into the Capital One Orange Bowl CFP semifinal following a 2-4 record in 2020. The Wolverines returned to the top 10 in the national polls for the first time since late 2019 at midseason and have remained in the top 10 for 10 consecutive weeks. Harbaugh is Michigan’s first finalist since 2011. Bo Schembechler won Michigan’s only FWAA Coach of the Year award in 1969.

Billy Napier, Louisiana: Napier, a first-time finalist and the first in Louisiana’s history, guided the Ragin’ Cajuns (12-1) to a school-record 12th straight win and a Sun Belt Conference championship last week only days after accepting the head coaching position at Florida. Napier was named SBC Coach of the Year as Louisiana broke its 54-year-old win-streak record and won the SBC’s West Division for a fourth consecutive season behind a defense that gives up only 18.7 points per game (13th in FBS). Louisiana faces Marshall in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl on Dec. 18.

Pat Narduzzi, Pitt: Narduzzi led the Panthers (11-2) to their first 10-win season since 1981 and their first Atlantic Coast Conference title since joining the league in 2013 with a 45-21 win over Wake Forest in last week’s ACC title game. Narduzzi sparked one of the country’s top passing combos with All-America candidates Kenny Pickett (ACC and school-record 42 touchdown passes) throwing to Jordan Addison (national-best 17 touchdown receptions). Pitt faces Michigan State in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Dec. 30. Narduzzi is Pitt’s first finalist since the award began naming finalists in 2010. Johnny Majors won the FWAA Coach of the Year Award at Pitt in 1976 and 1973.

Nick Saban, Alabama: The achievements run long on Saban’s ledger with the Eddie Robinson Award as the top-seeded Crimson Tide (12-1) prepare to face Cincinnati in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl in the CFP semifinals Dec. 31. Alabama won the SEC Championship Game last week, blowing past the nation’s top defense and formerly top-ranked team, 41-24 over Georgia. Saban is a two-time winner (at Alabama in 2008, at LSU in 2003) and is one of Alabama’s two previous winners along with Gene Stallings in 1992. He is now an eight-time finalist, earning the designation in five of the last eight seasons.

Kalani Sitake, BYU: Sitake is a repeat finalist from 2020 following a season in which the Cougars (10-2) posted five wins over Pac-12 schools, including a 26-17 win over Pac-12 champion Utah, as well as wins over Mountain West Conference champion Utah State and Virginia. BYU running back Tyler Allgeier is tied for the national lead with 20 rushing touchdowns and the Cougars’ offense is ranked in the top 30 in 12 different categories. Sitake, also a finalist for entry into the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame this year, is a former player under Lavell Edwards, who is BYU’s only previous Eddie Robinson winner from 1984.

Kirby Smart, Georgia: The Bulldogs (12-1) owned the No. 1 spot in the polls and the College Football Playoff rankings for most of the season prior to the SEC Championship Game. Smart still guides the nation’s top scoring defense giving up only 9.5 points per game as the No. 3-seed Bulldogs head into the CFP semifinals to face Michigan in Miami Gardens, Fla. Georgia, averaging 39.4 points (seventh nationally), is 4-1 against ranked teams including a pair of top-10 wins, and is only the fourth team in school history to finish the regular season undefeated. Smart was also a finalist in 2017 and Georgia’s third overall. Vince Dooley won the FWAA Coach of the Year Award in 1980.

Jeff Traylor, UTSA: Traylor took the Roadrunners (12-1) to new heights – their first C-USA West Division title, a win in their first Conference USA Championship Game (49-41 over WKU). UTSA had an 11-game win streak to start the season and has its winningest season yet heading into its Tropical Smoothie Café Frisco Bowl berth to face San Diego State. The Roadrunners also made their first appearance in the College Football Playoff and both national polls, topping out at 15th in the AP poll. Running back Sincere McCormick is having another All-America caliber season, rushing for 1,479 yards with 15 touchdowns. Traylor is a first-time finalist and the first in UTSA’s history.

Mel Tucker, Michigan State: The Spartans (10-2) were darlings of the Big Ten heading into November, posting an 8-0 start (following 2-5 in 2020) and competing for the Big Ten East Division title. Tucker rode the legs of Kenneth Walker III, the Big Ten Running Back of the Year with 1,636 yards to date and MSU’s first 1,000-yard rusher since 2014, into the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl to face Pitt on Dec. 30. Tucker is MSU’s first finalist since 2015. Duffy Daugherty won the Spartans’ only FWAA Coach of the Year Award in 1965.

Kyle Whittingham, Utah: Whittingham, a finalist from the 2008 season, became Utah’s (10-3) all-time wins leader (143) while earning the Utes’ first Pac-12 Championship since joining the league in 2011 with its runaway win over Oregon. After a 1-2 start, Utah has won 9 of 10 games going into its first Rose Bowl appearance where it will take on Ohio State. Utah’s defense ranks fourth in the FBS in tackles for loss per game (7.6) and is 12th in team sacks (3.17). Whittingham, Utah’s only previous finalist, is preceded by Urban Meyer, the Utes’ only previous winner, from 2004.

The Eddie Robinson Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 25 awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit ncfaa.org and @NCFAA on Twitter to learn more about the association.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 28 national champions, 99 Hall of Fame players, 51 Hall of Fame coaches and 19 Heisman Trophy winners in its 87-year history. The 88th Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic is scheduled to be played on Jan. 1, 2022 between Baylor and Ole Miss. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1.6 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting over $2.7 billion into the local economy in the last decade. For more information, visit AllstateSugarBowl.org.

Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of journalists, broadcasters, publicists, photographers and key executives in all areas of college football. The FWAA works to govern media access and gameday operations while presenting awards and honors, including an annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its programs and initiatives, contact Executive Director Steve Richardson at 214-870-6516 or tiger@fwaa.com.

2021 Eddie Robinson Award
• Thirteen finalists named for 2021 Eddie Robinson Award
• Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award | All-time winners

Coastal Carolina’s Chadwell wins 2020 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award

by • Awards, Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, News • Tags: ,

DALLAS  – Coastal Carolina coach Jamey Chadwell led his team to historic heights this season within its program, its conference, the national rankings and even the College Football Playoff with an 11-win season that captured the country’s imagination and brought immeasurable attention to the school in Conway, S.C. For his achievements in leading the Chanticleers to so many historic program firsts, Chadwell was named the 2020 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year by the Football Writers Association of America and the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

Chadwell is a first-time winner of the Eddie Robinson Award and the first coach from the Sun Belt Conference to win the honor. He was selected from voting by the entire FWAA membership from a field of eight other finalists from seven FBS conferences and the nation’s top independent program.

“Jamey Chadwell had an outstanding season that would have impressed even Coach Robinson,” Sugar Bowl president Ralph Capitelli said. “While going from being picked last in the conference in the preseason to winning its first Sun Belt Championship and reaching the national Top-10, Coastal Carolina became one of the feel-good stories of the season during a very tough year. Congratulations to Coach Chadwell and his Chanticleers.”

“Coach Eddie Robinson’s family sends congratulations and well-wishes to Coach Jamey Chadwell on his becoming the 2020 FWAA Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year,” said Eddie Robinson III, the grandson of the legendary coach. “His 2020 season at Coastal Carolina has been a phenomenal one not only for the school and for the Sun Belt Conference but for all of college football and its rich history.”

Jamey Chadwell led his Coastal Carolina program to an 11-1 season in just his second full season in Conway. (Photo: Icon Sportswire)

Chadwell, in his second full season as head coach at Coastal Carolina, will receive the iconic bust of the late Robinson, a College Football Hall of Fame coach at Grambling State University for 55 years and winner of 408 career games. Chadwell took over as interim head coach for Joe Moglia in the 2017 season and the was named the fulltime head coach replacing Moglia before the 2019 season. Moglia missed the 2017 season with health issues.

“This award is a direct reflection of the sacrifices that the Coastal Carolina University administration, staff, coaches, and student-athletes made to help our team have a historic season,” Chadwell said. “It’s an absolute privilege to represent Coach Robinson and I would like to thank the Football Writers Associations of America and the Sugar Bowl committee for the opportunity to accept this prestigious award.”

Chadwell, the Sun Belt Coach of the Year, first caught the nation’s attention as Coastal Carolina, picked to finish last in the SBC’s East Division, took a 28-3 lead into halftime of its Sept. 12 season opener at Kansas. CCU eventually won 38-23 to lead off a banner day for the Sun Belt that helped grab national headlines. A home win over Campbell then led into conference play, where a runaway 52-23 win over Arkansas State was followed by a notable 30-27 win at two-time West Division champion and nationally-ranked Louisiana with a field goal in the final seconds. It was Coastal’s first win over a top-25 team and began a string of eight straight conference wins that guaranteed Coastal’s first division championship, its first bowl berth and later its first conference championship at the FBS level.

As the wins mounted, so too did the attention as the win at Louisiana earned Coastal its first national ranking in both polls and it hasn’t left the top 25 since. Coastal, which had climbed to No. 14 in the polls, thought it lost a big opportunity when its home game Dec. 5 against No. 25 Liberty had to be cancelled late in the week. But the magical season got a rare coup when it was able to quickly replace it only two days prior to kickoff with another home game against No. 8 BYU. Once again the country’s attention turned to Conway and a rare late-season meeting between two of the top three ranked Group of 5 schools. The game drew one of the day’s largest television ratings as the Chants won, 22-17, tackling a BYU receiver at their 1-yard line as time expired.

It was one of two wins Coastal had over top 25 opponents, another program first, and earned them a No. 9 ranking in the Associated Press poll, the highest ranking ever for any Sun Belt school. It also brought the Chants up to No. 12 in the College Football Playoff rankings, a first for the program and another Sun Belt record high for a program playing only its fourth season as a full-time FBS and Sun Belt member.

A Sun Belt Conference Championship Game rematch with Louisiana had to be cancelled due to COVID concerns, sending Coastal into the bowl season with its first undefeated regular season still intact. The Chants placed 10 players on the All-Sun Belt First Team and had 16 players on the team in all. Five of the six individual awards went to Coastal players: Player and Freshman of the Year (quarterback Grayson McCall); Defensive Player of the Year (defensive end Tarron Jackson); Newcomer of the Year (cornerback D’Jordan Strong) and Coach of the Year (Chadwell).

A rematch of sorts with Liberty came Dec. 26 in the FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl in Orlando. Coastal scored with 3:01 left and got a two-point conversion to take the game to overtime. Liberty’s first possession ended with a 44-yard field goal, and the Flames blocked Coastal’s field goal try on its possession to take a 37-34 win to hand the Chants their lone loss of the season.

The Eddie Robinson Award is the second of two FWAA postseason honors won by Coastal Carolina this season. Senior defensive end Tarron Jackson is a first team FWAA All-American, the Chanticleers’ first player to earn that status or any FWAA postseason honor. Jackson was also a Bronko Nagurski Trophy finalist as FWAA’s National Defensive Player of the Year.

The other eight finalists for the award were Tom Allen of Indiana, Brent Brennan of San Jose State, Matt Campbell of Iowa State, Karl Dorrell of Colorado, Luke Fickell of Cincinnati, Nick Saban of Alabama, Kalani Sitake of BYU and Dabo Swinney of Clemson.

The FWAA has presented a coaching award since the 1957 season when Ohio State’s Woody Hayes was named the first recipient. Beginning in 1997, the FWAA Coach of the Year Award has been named in honor of the late Robinson, a coaching legend at Grambling State University for 55 seasons.

Robinson, who passed away in 2007, won 70.7 percent of his games during his illustrious career. Robinson’s teams won or tied for 17 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) championships after joining the league in 1959. His Tigers won nine Black College Football Championships during his career spent all at the same school.

The Eddie Robinson Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football’s most prestigious awards. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 25 awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit ncfaa.org to learn more about our story.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 28 national champions, 97 Hall of Fame players, 50 Hall of Fame coaches and 18 Heisman Trophy winners in its 87-year history. The 2022 Allstate Sugar Bowl, which will feature top teams from the SEC and the Big 12, is scheduled to be played on January 1, 2022. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1.6 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting over $2.7 billion into the local economy in the last decade. For more information, visit AllstateSugarBowl.org.

The Football Writers Association of America, founded in 1941, consists of 1,300 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.

Related links:
• All-time Eddie Robinson Award winners, finalists
• Eddie Robinson Award: Logo (.jpg) | Photo

FWAA names nine finalists for 2020 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award

by • Awards, Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, News • Tags: ,

DALLAS – The Football Writers Association of America, in conjunction with the Allstate Sugar Bowl, announced nine finalists for the 2020 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award on Monday. Among the finalists is a two-time winner and three former finalists representing a combined total of 14 nominations. Two head coaches whose teams are playing in the College Football Playoff headline the list that also includes coaches of three other conference champions and the country’s top independent team.In alphabetical order the finalists are: Tom Allen, Indiana; Brent Brennan, San José State; Matt Campbell, Iowa State; Jamey Chadwell, Coastal Carolina; Karl Dorrell, Colorado; Luke Fickell, Cincinnati; Nick Saban, Alabama; Kalani Sitake, BYU, and Dabo Swinney, Clemson.

Brennan, Chadwell, Fickell, Saban and Swinney each claimed conference championships this season. Campbell and Iowa State won the Big 12 regular-season title, Allen has Indiana among the top 10 going into the Outback Bowl, and Sitake led BYU into the top 10 and Dorrell had Colorado each unbeaten into December.Saban is the dean of the nine finalists as a two-time winner and seven-time finalist. Swinney, a six-time finalist, is among the finalists for a fourth consecutive season and is the only returning finalist from 2019. Both coaches will compete in the CFP next month, Swinney in the Allstate Sugar Bowl against Ohio State.

“The Allstate Sugar Bowl is proud to sponsor the Eddie Robinson Award and to once again have the opportunity to recognize the top college football coaches in the nation as finalists for this honor,” said Ralph Capitelli, the President of the Allstate Sugar Bowl. “While each of the finalists is fully deserving of the award, we look forward to presenting the trophy to the winner as selected by the football writers.”

The 2020 recipient will be announced the week of Jan. 4-8, 2021. The official presentation will be on the campus of the winning coach at a later date.

The nine finalists have been placed on a ballot which has been sent to the entire FWAA membership.

“The FWAA believes it has an extremely good group of coaches representing different conferences and independents,” said Executive Director Steve Richardson. “We will have a fine recipient for the 2020 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award. The FWAA’s congratulations go out to all coaches for weathering what has been a very trying and unpredictable year.”

“This time of the year with the winding down of the college football season, I’m especially excited to receive the announcement of the Eddie Robinson Coach of Year Award finalists,” said Eddie Robinson III, the grandson of the award’s namesake. “With all of the world dealing with Covid-19, and the fact that we even had a season and that every program had to adapt to deal with the virus protocols etc, all the coaches that made list of finalists are even more than deserving of the award. We wish the best for all that were selected as finalists.”

The FWAA has presented a coaching award since the 1957 season when Ohio State’s Woody Hayes was named the first recipient. The FWAA coaching award is named after the late Robinson, a coaching legend at Grambling State University for 55 seasons.

The 2020 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year finalists:

Tom Allen, Indiana: The Hoosiers (6-1) are one of three teams with three top-25 wins and have been ranked in the top 10 five times in 2020, cresting the top-10 threshold for the first time since 1969. The eight weeks in the poll is Indiana’s longest streak since 1945. In his fifth season in Bloomington, the Big Ten Coach of the Year by media and fellow coaches has led Indiana to six conference wins, tied for the most in program history with the 1967 and ’87 teams. This is Allen’s first finalist honor and the Hoosiers’ first Eddie Robinson Award finalist since 1967 when John Pont was the winner.

Brent Brennan, San José State: The Spartans (7-0) are one of five unbeaten teams heading into the bowl season under their fourth-year head coach. They have been one of the great success stories this season. Having been forced by the pandemic to play three home games outside of California, Brennan, the Mountain West Coach of the Year, and San José State responded by winning their division and playing in the school’s first conference championship game, beating Boise State, 34-20. This is the Spartans’ first winning season since 2012, and a win in the Arizona Bowl would give them their first undefeated season since 1939. This is Brennan’s first Eddie Robinson Award finalist honor and the first for the Spartans.

Matt Campbell, Iowa State: The Cyclones (8-3) were the Big 12 regular-season champions, earning a league title for the first time since 1912, and played in their first Big 12 Championship game. Of the Cyclones’ 22 starters, nine of them were All-Big 12 First Team selections. Campbell, the Big 12 Coach of the Year in his fifth season in Ames, led Iowa State to a school-record eight conference wins and its highest ranking (No. 6 in the CFP) in any poll in its history. A win in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl over Oregon would give the Cyclones their first nine-win season since 2000. This is Campbell’s first Eddie Robinson Award finalist honor and the first for the Cyclones.

Jamey Chadwell, Coastal Carolina: The Chanticleers (11-0), picked to finish last in the Sun Belt Conference’s East Division, captured the nation’s attention in the first week with a 38-23 win at Kansas, swept their eight conference games plus two more for the first unbeaten season in school history and the first in Sun Belt history. In only its fourth year as a full-time FBS member, Coastal Carolina won its first conference championship, earned its first national ranking (No. 9/11 this week with 10 straight weeks in both polls), its first College Football Playoff ranking (No. 12 in final poll) and defeated two Top-25 teams, including then-No. 8 BYU, 22-17 on Dec. 5. CCU’s current 12-game win streak dating back to last season is tied with No. 1 Alabama for the longest in the nation. The Sun Belt Conference’s Coach of the Year in his third season at the Coastal Carolina helm is the school’s first Eddie Robinson Award finalist. He and defensive end Tarron Jackson, a Bronko Nagurski Trophy finalist, are Coastal’s first finalists for any FWAA postseason award.

Karl Dorrell, Colorado: The Buffaloes (4-1) were one of nine undefeated teams heading into the final two weeks of the regular season and were ranked in the Dec. 7 polls for the first time since October of 2018. Dorrell, in his first season at CU, is the fifth head coach in school history to open 4-0 in his first season and just the second since 1905. Colorado jumped out 3-0 in league play for the first time as a Pac-12 member, making Dorrell the first CU coach to win his first three conference games since 1941. The Buffs will play in the Valero Alamo Bowl, their first bowl game since 2016. This is Dorrell’s second finalist nomination, having also achieved it in 2005 while at UCLA. Colorado has had two previous Eddie Robinson Award winners, most recently Mike MacIntyre in 2016 and Bill McCartney in 1989.

Luke Fickell, Cincinnati: The Bearcats (9-0) won their first outright league title since 2009 and their first American Athletic Conference Championship. Cincinnati is No. 8 in the final CFP rankings and will play in its first New Year’s Six bowl and its first New Year’s Day bowl since the 2009 season when the Bearcats battle Georgia in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. The Bearcats have one of the nation’s top defenses that ranks in the top 15 in five categories, including second in team interceptions (15) and seventh in scoring defense, giving up only 16 points per game. Fickell, the American’s Coach of the Year in his fourth season at UC, has earned Cincinnati’s first finaliist nod since 2009 when Brian Kelly, now at Notre Dame, earned the designation. Cincinnati has never had an Eddie Robinson Award winner.

Nick Saban, Alabama: The Crimson Tide (11-0) completed their fifth undefeated regular season under Saban and earned the top seed in the College Football Playoff with impressive scoring margins through an all-SEC schedule. Alabama is the only team in SEC history to win 10 conference games in a season while averaging 49.5 points per game in the 10-game regular season and became the first SEC team to post five 50-point games in SEC play. Saban, in his 14th season in Tuscaloosa, has coached more games (84) as the AP’s No. 1 team than any other active head coach and will face Notre Dame in a national semifinal in Arlington, Texas. A two-time Eddie Robinson Award winner (at Alabama in 2008, at LSU in 2003), he is one of Alabama’s two previous winners along with Gene Stallings in 1992. He is now a seven-time finalist, earning the designation in four of the last seven seasons.

Kalani Sitake, BYU: The Cougars (10-1) earned their first 10-win season since 2011 navigating through an oft-altered and harried schedule. BYU is the only FBS team in the top 10 in scoring offense, scoring defense, total offense and total defense. The Cougars are in the top 10 in 14 statistical categories overall and have qualified for a 38th bowl game in program history. Sitake, in his fifth season at BYU, is the school’s second finalist and first since Bronco Mendenhall in 2006. LaVell Edwards is BYU’s only previous winner in 1984.

Dabo Swinney, Clemson: The Tigers (10-1) qualified for the College Football Playoff for a sixth consecutive season, heading into their national semifinal game against Ohio State in New Orleans. Swinney and Clemson became the first team in any active conference to win six consecutive outright titles (tied with Oklahoma). Clemson, heading to its 16th consecutive bowl game, has won 10 games for a school-record 10th consecutive season after avenging its only loss to Notre Dame in the ACC Championship Game. The Tigers are 18-8 under Swinney in rematches of losses during his career. Swinney, in his 13th season at Clemson, is now a six-time finalist and the only repeat finalist from a year ago; he is among the finalists for a fourth consecutive season and the fifth time in six seasons (also 2015 and ’11). Danny Ford is Clemson’s only previous winner from the 1981 national championship season.

The Eddie Robinson Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 25 awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit ncfaa.org and @NCFAA on Twitter to learn more about the association.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 28 national champions, 96 Hall of Fame players, 50 Hall of Fame coaches and 18 Heisman Trophy winners in its 86-year history. The 87th Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will double as a College Football Playoff Semifinal, is scheduled to be played on Jan. 1, 2021 between No. 2 Clemson and No. 3 Ohio State. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1.6 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting over $2.7 billion into the local economy in the last decade. For more information, visit AllstateSugarBowl.org.

The Football Writers Association of America, founded in 1941, consists of 1,300 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.

Related links:
• All-time Eddie Robinson Award winners, finalists
• Eddie Robinson Award: Logo (.jpg) | Photo

Photo gallery: 2020 FWAA/Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award Presentation

by • Awards, Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, Photo Galleries • Tags: ,

The FWAA/Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award, sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl, was presented to LSU Coach Ed Orgeron on Jan. 11 in New Orleans. Two days later, his Tigers wrapped up a perfect season by beating Clemson in the College Football Playoff championship game. Here are some scenes from the Coach of the Year Award presentation.

LSU Coach Ed Orgeron in a light moment after receiving the FWAA/Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
The FWAA/Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award sponsored by the Allstate Sugar Bowl. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
LSU Coach Ed Orgeron and Eddie Robinson III exchange a fist bump before the award presentation. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
Eddie Robinson IV and Eddie Robinson III. In the background between them is 2019 FWAA President Matt Fortuna. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
Audience for the presentation of the FWAA/Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
Commemorative football. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
LSU Coach Ed Orgeron’s wife, Kelly, and two of his sons in the audience. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
Monique Morial, president of the board of the Sugar Bowl, presenting sponsor of the FWAA/Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
Eddie Robinson III, grandson of the former Grambling coach, addresses the audience before presenting the Coach of the Year Award. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
LSU Coach Ed Orgeron casts an eye on the bust of former Grambling Coach Eddie Robinson, namesake of the FWAA’s Coach of the Year Award. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
Charie Kirkland, granddaughter of former Grambling Coach Eddie Robinson, and Wilbert Ellis of the Eddie G. Robinson Museum in Grambling, La. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
The spread laid out for the FWAA/Eddie Bobinson Coach of the Year Award. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
LSU Coach Ed Orgeron with the FWAA/Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award and his wife and sons. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
Margaret Mason of the FWAA with Eddie Robinson III. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
FWAA member Bill Bender, Ken Mather of the Mid-American Conference and Ted Gangi of collegepressbox.com. Photo by Melissa Macatee)
Members attending the award presentation included, left to right, Malcolm Moran, Glenn Guilbeau, 2019 President Matt Fortuna and George Schroeder. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
Left to right, 2019 FWAA President Matt Fortuna, Eddie Robinson III, LSU Coach Ed Orgeron, Allstate Sugar Bowl President Monique Morial and Allstate Sugar Bowl CEO Jeff Hundley. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)

LSU’s Orgeron wins 2019 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award

by • Awards, Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year • Tags: ,

Coach O to be honored on Jan. 11 in New Orleans

DALLAS — LSU coach Ed Orgeron has been named the 2019 Allstate Sugar Bowl Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year after the Tigers registered a perfect 13-0 regular season, won their 12th Southeastern Conference title, and earned the No. 1 ranking in the College Football Playoff.

LSU Coach Ed Orgeron

Selected by the Football Writers Association of America, Orgeron will be honored on the evening of Saturday, Jan. 11, during a reception in New Orleans, two days before his Tigers could be playing for the CFB Playoff National Championship at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. He is the first Eddie Robinson Award recipient to appear in the six years of the College Football Playoff.

The 58-year-old Orgeron will be receiving the iconic bust of another Louisiana native, the late Robinson, a College Football Hall of Fame coach at Grambling State University for 55 years and winner of 408 career games. Orgeron is from Larose in south Louisiana. Robinson was born in Jackson, in the northern part of the state, but later attended high school in Baton Rouge.

“Coach Orgeron is an incredibly deserving winner of this prestigious honor,” 2019 FWAA President Matt Fortuna said. “From the ways he has reinvented his program on and off the field, to the bonds he has formed with his players, it is easy to see how he has led LSU to a No. 1 ranking this season. (LSU quarterback) Joe Burrow’s Heisman speech alone made me want to run through a brick wall for Coach O.”

“On behalf of the Sugar Bowl Committee, I want to congratulate Coach O for his outstanding achievements this year,” said Judge Monique Morial, President of the Sugar Bowl Committee. “A perfect regular season, an SEC Championship and the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. It’s been quite a year for the Tigers.”

Riding a 14-game winning streak, LSU has registered 13 victories in a season for only the second time and will meet No. 4 Oklahoma on Dec. 28 in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta in one of two national semifinal games. A win in Atlanta sends LSU to the title game in New Orleans.

This truly has been a magical season for LSU.

Orgeron’s 2019 team has set several school records, including points in a season (621), points per game (554.3) and passing yards (5,029). Senior All-America quarterback Joe Burrow is the FWAA’s first-team signal-caller along with receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who joins him in the first team honor. Center Lloyd Cushenberry III and cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. earned second-team FWAA honors.

“I’m very proud of our football team. In the spring I could see them coming together,” Orgeron said following LSU’s 37-10 victory over Georgia in the SEC Championship. “They were starting in their first season with the spread offense and having Joe (Burrow) run it, then having (passing game coordinator) Joe Brady here and to see the evolution of the spread offense, which our fans have been wanting for a long time. We’re finally gelling on defense that last couple of games. There was a lot of pride on the defense, I knew they were going to play their best ball. It’s just a good time at LSU, and everybody is pulling the same side of the rope.”

The 2019 Tigers’ offense is the only unit in SEC history to include a 4,000-yard passer, a 1,000-yard rusher and two 1,000-yard receivers in the same season. Burrow, the SEC’s Offensive Player of the Year, has broken league records for passing yards and touchdowns; and his completion percentage and passing efficiency ratings are on pace to break NCAA records.

“Coach Ed Orgeron and the LSU Tigers’ impressive 13-0 regular season record is a testament to Coach O’s relentless leadership and guidance of one of college football’s most storied programs,” said Eddie Robinson III, grandson of the legendary coach. “Congratulations Coach Orgeron from the Robinson Family on winning the 2019 ‘Eddie’!”

Orgeron becomes the third LSU coach to collect the FWAA Coach of the Year Award. Paul Dietzel claimed it in 1958, a year in which the Tigers won the national title and beat Clemson in the Sugar Bowl at the old Tulane Stadium. The other LSU wining coach was current Alabama coach Nick Saban, who led the Tigers to the national title in 2003, when LSU beat Oklahoma, 21-14 in the Bowl Championship Series, in the Sugar Bowl at the Superdome.

Orgeron is now one of four different Southeastern Conference coaches to win the FWAA honor since Robinson became the namesake in 1997, the year the legendary coach retired from coaching. The others were Tennessee’s Phillip Fulmer in 1998; Saban in 2003 at LSU and again in ’08 at Alabama; and Gus Malzahn at Auburn in 2013.

The affable Orgeron, with a thick Cajun drawl, receives the award after a vote of the FWAA membership. The other eight finalist coaches were in, alphabetical order: Ryan Day, Ohio State; Eliah Drinkwitz, Appalachian State; Sonny Dykes, SMU; P.J. Fleck, Minnesota; Bryan Harsin, Boise State; Mike Norvell, Memphis; Matt Rhule, Baylor; and Dabo Swinney, Clemson.

Orgeron, a defensive line coach by trade, started his college playing career at LSU but transferred to Northwestern (La.) State after his first year in Baton Rouge. He later was an assistant coach on national championship staffs at Miami (Fla.) and USC. He became head coach at Ole Miss in 2005 but lasted only three seasons before he was fired after a 3-9 season in 2007.

Eventually, he wound up back at USC in 2010, where he stayed though the 2013 season. Orgeron served as interim head coach most of that season after head coach Lane Kiffin was fired. When he didn’t get that job fulltime, he took an assistant’s job at LSU in 2015 and eventually became head coach in 2016 after Les Miles’ tenure ended there.

Along the way as head coach at LSU, one of Orgeron’s coaching moves was to accept Ohio State transfer quarterback Joe Burrow, who has become LSU’s second Heisman Trophy winner. Billy Cannon claimed the Heisman Trophy in 1959, the year after LSU won its first national title.

“I think at the end of the day you got to be a good fit,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said of Orgeron. “He certainly was a great fit for LSU. He’s put a good staff together. He’s provided great leadership and stability. But I think more importantly belief. He’s brought some passion into that program, not that they didn’t have it before, but I just think it’s been fun to watch.”

The FWAA has presented a coaching award since the 1957 season when Ohio State’s Woody Hayes was named the first recipient. Beginning in 1997, the FWAA Coach of the Year Award has been named in honor of the late Robinson, a coaching legend at Grambling State University for 55 seasons.

Robinson, who passed away in 2007, won 70.7 percent of his games during his illustrious career. Robinson’s teams won or tied for 17 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) championships after joining the league in 1959. His Tigers won nine Black College Football Championships during his career spent all at the same school.

The Eddie Robinson Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football’s most prestigious awards. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 25 awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit ncfaa.org to learn more about our story.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 28 national champions, 93 Hall of Fame players, 50 Hall of Fame coaches and 18 Heisman Trophy winners in its 85-year history. The 86th Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, featuring the Baylor Bears from the Big 12 and the Georgia Bulldogs from the SEC, will be played on January 1, 2020. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1.6 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors nearly 100,000 student-athletes each year and has injected over $2.5 billion into the local economy over the last decade. For more information, visit AllstateSugarBowl.org.

The Football Writers Association of America, founded in 1941, consists of 1,300 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.

Eddie Robinson Award
• Nine finalists named for 2019 Eddie Robinson Award
• Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award | All-time winners

Nine finalists named for 2019 FWAA Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award

by • Awards, Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year

Winner to be announced on Dec. 20

DALLAS — The Football Writers Association of America, in conjunction with the Allstate Sugar Bowl, announced nine finalists for the 2019 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award on Tuesday. Among the finalists are three previous finalists and three of the four head coaches competing in the College Football Playoff.

In alphabetical order the finalists are: Ryan Day, Ohio State; Eliah Drinkwitz, Appalachian State; Sonny Dykes, SMU; P.J. Fleck, Minnesota; Bryan Harsin, Boise State; Mike Norvell, Memphis; Ed Orgeron, LSU; Matt Rhule, Baylor; and Dabo Swinney, Clemson.

Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award

This is the third consecutive season for Swinney to be a finalist and the fifth time overall (also 2015 and ’11). Fleck was a finalist in 2016 at Western Michigan and Harsin was a finalist in 2014 at Boise State. The 2019 recipient will be announced on Friday, Dec. 20.

“These nine coaches have had outstanding seasons,” 2019 FWAA President Matt Fortuna said. “We could not be happier to present this award next month in New Orleans, as each individual exemplifies the values embodied by the award’s namesake, Eddie Robinson.”

The official presentation reception will be on Jan. 11, 2020, in New Orleans where the winning coach will be handed the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year bust during a reception hosted by the Allstate Sugar Bowl in conjunction with the College Football Playoff National Championship.

“The Allstate Sugar Bowl is proud each year to recognize the top college football coach in the nation while at the same time honoring the great accomplishments of a Louisiana legend, Coach Eddie Robinson,” said Monique Morial, the President of the Sugar Bowl Committee. “And we’re excited that this year we will be recognizing the winner right here in New Orleans as part of the College Football Playoff National Championship festivities that we’re hosting in January.”

The nine finalists have been placed on a ballot which has been sent to the entire FWAA membership. Ballots will be accepted through 5 p.m. ET on Friday, Dec. 13.

The FWAA has presented a coaching award since the 1957 season when Ohio State’s Woody Hayes was named the first recipient. The FWAA coaching award is named after the late Robinson, a coaching legend at Grambling State University for 55 seasons.

The 2019 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year finalists:

Ryan Day, Ohio State: Day was the media’s choice for Big Ten Coach of the Year. The last time Ohio State had a coach named Big Ten Coach of the Year was 1979, the year Day was born. The 40-year drought ended last week as the first-year coach guided Ohio State to a 13-0 season with a Big Ten Championship win and a berth into the College Football Playoff. The Buckeyes dominated the Big Ten this season powered by the nation’s No. 1 scoring offense (48.7), No. 5 total offense (531.0), No. 2 total defense (247.6) and No. 2 (tied) scoring defense (12.5).

Eliah Drinkwitz, Appalachian State: In Drinkwitz’s one season at the helm, Appalachian State (12-1) won its fourth straight Sun Belt Conference title and made history as the first 12-win Sun Belt team and earned the highest national ranking in school and conference history. The No. 20 Mountaineers became the first Sun Belt team to beat two Power Five teams (North Carolina and South Carolina, both on the road) in the same season. Drinkwitz has accepted the same position at Missouri.

Sonny Dykes, SMU: In his second year with the Mustangs, Dykes led SMU to its first 10-win season (10-2) since 1984 and its first perfect home season (6-0) since 1968. The Mustangs are No. 6 nationally in scoring offense (43.0, currently a school record), No. 9 in total offense (495.3, currently a school record) and No. 12 in passing offense (309.3, second all-time at the school), while the defense set school records with 50 sacks (second nationally, one behind Ohio State) and 105 tackles for loss (fourth nationally, 8.75 per game).

P.J. Fleck, Minnesota: The Gophers won 10 games (10-2) in the regular season for the first time since 1905 and won seven Big Ten games for the first time in school history. Minnesota’s 31-26 home win over Penn State was its first against a top five opponent since 1999 and its first home win against a top five team since 1977. The Gophers reached as high as No. 7 in the AP poll, their highest ranking since 1962. Fleck was the coaches’ selection as the Big Ten Coach of the Year, marking the third time in the last seven seasons, Fleck has earned a conference coach of the year nod.

Bryan Harsin, Boise State: Harsin has led the Broncos to a 12-1 record and a second conference title in three seasons following a 31-10 win over Hawaii in the Mountain West Championship Game. The 12 wins are the most in a season for Boise State since Harsin’s first season in 2014 and the Broncos went a perfect 8-0 in Mountain West play for the first time since joining the conference in 2011. Boise State reached as high as No. 19 in the CFP rankings.

Mike Norvell, Memphis: Norvell has Memphis headed to the Goodyear Cotton Bowl as the Group of 5 representative after the Tigers (12-1) captured their first outright conference championship in 50 years. Memphis is No. 17 in the final CFP rankings following a regular season that saw the Tigers in the top 10 in scoring offense (No. 8, 40.5) and post 87 plays gaining 20-plus yards (tied for 6th nationally). Norvell has accepted the same position at Florida State.

Ed Orgeron, LSU: Orgeron has the Tigers at 13-0 for just the second time in school history and taking their SEC Championship into their first College Football Playoff game as the top-ranked team to face No. 4 Oklahoma in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. LSU defeated five top-10 teams in the regular season – Texas, Florida, Auburn, Alabama and then Georgia last week in the SEC Championship Game – behind the play of record-setting quarterback Joe Burrow, and is only the second team (Notre Dame, 1943) to do that prior to its bowl game. The Tigers have won 14 straight dating back to last year’s Fiesta Bowl and have scored in 49 of 52 quarters this season.

Matt Rhule, Baylor: The Bears (11-2) reached their first Big 12 Championship Game before falling to CFP No. 4-ranked Oklahoma and will play in the 2020 Allstate Sugar Bowl against Georgia. Defense guided Baylor’s fortunes as the Bears forced at least two takeaways in nine of their 13 games, including 16 interceptions in their last 10 games and at least one takeaway in their last 15 overall. The Bears have a school-record 43.0 sacks through 13 games after totaling only 25 in 2018. Baylor was 1-11 two years ago and 7-6 last season.

Dabo Swinney, Clemson: The Tigers became the first school to win five straight conference championship games last week with a 62-17 dismantling of Virginia in the ACC Championship Game, Clemson’s sixth under Swinney and 19th ACC title overall. Clemson is near the top of every major statistical category, leading the country in total defense (244.7) and scoring defense (10.6) while also posting the No. 3 total offense (547.7) and No. 4 scoring offense (46.5). The Tigers held eight of 13 opponents to 10 points or less while scoring 40 or more points 10 times and 50-plus seven times.

The Eddie Robinson Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football’s most prestigious awards. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 25 awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit ncfaa.org to learn more about our story.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 28 national champions, 93 Hall of Fame players, 50 Hall of Fame coaches and 18 Heisman Trophy winners in its 85-year history. The 86th Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, featuring the Baylor Bears from the Big 12 and the Georgia Bulldogs from the SEC, will be played on January 1, 2020. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1.6 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors nearly 100,000 student-athletes each year and has injected over $2.5 billion into the local economy over the last decade. For more information, visit AllstateSugarBowl.org.

The Football Writers Association of America, founded in 1941, consists of 1,300 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.

Eddie Robinson Award
• Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award | All-time winners, finalists

Photo gallery: Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year reception for UAB’s Bill Clark

by • Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, Photo Galleries • Tags: ,

Photos from the reception for Alabama-Birmingham Coach Bill Clark, winner of the 2018 FWAA Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award. The reception was on Jan. 5, 2019, at the San Jose Marriott.

Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year bust. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
FWAA Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award receipient Bill Clark meets the media at reception at San Jose Marriott. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
Eddie Robinson III (left) confers with UAB’s Bill Clark. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
Sugar Bowl President Rod West makes the Eddie Robinson Bust presentation. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
Eddie Robinson IV (left) and Eddie Robinson III (right) pose with the FWAA Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Bust. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
( L-R) FWAA Executive Director Steve Richardson, Eddie Robinson III, UAB Coach Bill Clark and Sugar Bowl President Rod West. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
(L-R) Sugar Bowl’s Jeff Hundley, FWAA’s Margaret Mason and FWAA Past President and Bert McGrane recipient Tony Barnhart. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
FWAA members Doug Kelly (center) and Mark Purdy (right) along with Kelly’s wife at the FWAA Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year reception. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
UAB Athletic Director Mark Ingram and Sugar Bowl President Rod West. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year commemorative football. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
2018 Coach of the Year, UAB’s Bill Clark, with Eddie Robinson bust. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
Eddie Robinson III engages Sugar Bowl CEO Paul Hoolahan, who will retire in June after a highly successful 20-plus year run at the New Orleans-based bowl. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
Crowd at the reception on Jan. 5, 2019 at the San Jose Marriott. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
CoSIDA’s Doug Vance (left) and San Jose State’s Lawrence Fan (right) at the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year reception. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
The College Football Playoff’s Alfred White and the NFF’s Matt Sign enjoy a moment at the reception. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
Sugar Bowl COO Jeff Hundley (left) and Conference USA’s Russ Anderson (right). (Photo by Melissa Macatee)
The program for the 2018 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award. (Photo by Melissa Macatee)

UAB’s Clark wins 2018 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award

by • Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year • Tags: ,

Award to be presented on Jan. 5 in San Jose

DALLAS — UAB coach Bill Clark has truly made something out of nothing. It’s a football comeback story that defies the expectations of even the most ardent of Blazers fans. And on Thursday, the 50-year-old Clark was named the 2018 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year recipient by the Football Writers Association of America and the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

In 2015 and ’16, UAB did not have an FBS team playing at Legion Field – or anywhere. The school resumed the program for the 2017 season and posted an impressive 8-5 record that concluded with the school’s first bowl appearance at the Bahamas Bowl. Clark was named the Conference USA Coach of the Year for 2017 and quickly built on that initial success.

In 2018 the Blazers are now a championship team.

This season the Blazers own a 10-3 overall record and are C-USA champions after beating Middle Tennessee, 27-25, in the conference championship game, avenging their only conference loss to the Blue Raiders a week earlier. UAB faces Northern Illinois in the Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl next Tuesday, Dec. 18. The Blazers have not lost at Legion Field since the return, and their 12-0 mark is currently the fifth-longest home win streak in the country.

The 10 victories are already a school record for one of the better defensive teams in the FBS. The Blazers are 10th nationally in total defense (300.2 ypg, five yards behind Alabama), lead the nation in fourth-down defense (27.8 percent opponent conversions) and are second in third-down defense (25.0 percent conversions).

“Bill Clark has done a yeoman’s job in rebuilding the UAB program from scratch,” said 2018 FWAA President Stefanie Loh of the Seattle Times. “The fact the Blazers won the Conference USA title in 2018 is one thing. Considering the circumstances, it goes into the extraordinary category.”

Clark is the first coach from Conference USA to receive the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award, but the second straight coach from a Group of Five school to claim it. Last season, UCF’s Scott Frost of the American Athletic Conference was the recipient when his team finished off an unbeaten 13-0 season.

“It would be hard to imagine someone more deserving than Bill Clark for this award,” said Sugar Bowl President Rod West. “Two seasons ago, UAB didn’t even have a football team, and next week the Blazers will be playing in a bowl game as the champion of Conference USA. We congratulate Coach Clark on everything he has accomplished to date and we welcome him to the list of great coaches to have won the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award.”

The official presentation reception will be on Saturday Jan. 5, 2019, in San Jose, Calif., where Clark will be handed the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year bust during a reception in conjunction with the College Football Playoff National Championship Game.

“I am truly humbled to receive the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award and would like to thank the Football Writers Association of America and the Allstate Sugar Bowl for this prestigious recognition,” Clark said. “This honor is the epitome of a team effort and it would not have been possible without the countless hours of the entire staff and the relentless motivation from our student-athletes in striving to make history every day. UAB football would also like to thank the entire city of Birmingham for its tremendous support throughout this journey and making it possible for us to take the field each and every Saturday.”

The other seven finalists for the award were Josh Heupel of UCF; Brian Kelly of Notre Dame; Jeff Monken of Army; Lincoln Riley of Oklahoma; Nick Saban of Alabama; Dabo Swinney of Clemson; and Jeff Tedford of Fresno State. Clark won in a vote of the entire FWAA membership.

In late 2014, the UAB football program was shut down by the school due to financial issues, only to be brought back again in the middle of 2015 with the intention to resume play in 2017. Clark was in his first year as UAB head coach in 2014 when the Blazers posted a 6-6 record but did not receive a bowl invitation, then remained in limbo for several months until a $50 million fund drive by fans helped convince school officials to bring the program back.

“When I came back these were the kinds of things I expected,” UAB kicker Nick Vogel said of playing for championships. “I knew the kind of coach that Coach Clark was. He was part of the reason I came back. I fully believed in him to bring us to this point. It took us two years, which is way shorter than anyone would have guessed, but we’re here and happy to be here.”

The FWAA has presented a coaching award since the 1957 season when Ohio State’s Woody Hayes was named the first recipient. Beginning in 1997, the FWAA Coach of the Year Award has been named in honor of the late Robinson, a coaching legend at Grambling State University for 55 seasons.

Robinson, who passed away in 2007, won 70.7 percent of his games during his illustrious career. Robinson’s teams won or tied for 17 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) championships after joining the league in 1959. His Tigers won nine Black College Football Championships during his career spent all at the same school.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 28 national champions, 93 Hall of Fame players, 49 Hall of Fame coaches and 18 Heisman Trophy winners in its 84-year history. The 85th Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, featuring the Big 12’s Texas and Georgia from the SEC, will be played on January 1, 2019. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1.6 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors nearly 100,000 student-athletes each year and has injected over $2.5 billion into the local economy over the last decade. For more information, visit AllstateSugarBowl.org.

The Eddie Robinson Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football’s most prestigious awards. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit ncfaa.org to learn more about our story.

The Football Writers Association of America, founded in 1941, consists of 1,300 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.

Eddie Robinson Award
• Eight finalists named for 2018 Eddie Robinson Award
• Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award | All-time winners

Finalists named for 2018 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award

by • Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year • Tags: ,

Winner to be announced on Dec. 13

DALLAS – The Football Writers Association of America, in conjunction with the Allstate Sugar Bowl, announced eight finalists for the 2018 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award on Wednesday. Among the recognized coaches are five repeat finalists from a year ago, a pair of previous winners, and each of the four head coaches in the upcoming College Football Playoff.

In alphabetical order the finalists are: Bill Clark, UAB; Josh Heupel, UCF; Brian Kelly, Notre Dame; Jeff Monken, Army; Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma; Nick Saban, Alabama; Dabo Swinney, Clemson; and Jeff Tedford, Fresno State.

“It is an outstanding group of coaches,” said 2018 FWAA President Stefanie Loh of the Seattle Times. “Any one of the coaches would make a great choice for our 2018 Coach of the Year. We believe all these men demonstrate the coaching excellence that the award’s namesake, Eddie Robinson, showed on and off the field.”

Notre Dame’s Kelly and Alabama’s Saban are the only former Eddie Robinson Award winners in the group. The 2018 recipient will be announced on Thursday, Dec. 13.

The official presentation reception will be on Jan. 5, 2019, in San Jose, Calif., where the winning coach will be handed the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year bust during a reception hosted by the Allstate Sugar Bowl in conjunction with the College Football Playoff National Championship.

“The Allstate Sugar Bowl is proud each year to recognize the top college football coach in the nation while at the same time honoring the great accomplishments of a Louisiana legend, Coach Eddie Robinson,” said Sugar Bowl Committee President Rod West. “And we’re excited to do so again this year when we present the award to this year’s winner in a ceremony prior to the National Championship in January.”

The eight finalists have been placed on a ballot which has been sent to the entire FWAA membership. Ballots will be accepted through 5 p.m. ET on Friday, Dec. 7.

The FWAA has presented a coaching award since the 1957 season when Ohio State’s Woody Hayes was named the first recipient. The FWAA coaching award is named after the late Robinson, a coaching legend at Grambling State University for 55 seasons.

The 2018 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year finalists:

Bill Clark, UAB: After the school’s two-year hiatus from football, Clark’s Blazers posted an 8-4 record during the 2017 regular season and followed that up with the Conference USA title in 2018 paced by undefeated seasons at Legion Field both years. Clark has built a roster from scratch and has recorded the most victories in a UAB season. The Blazers (10-3), 10th nationally in total defense, will meet Northern Illinois in the Cheribundi Tart Cherry Boca Raton Bowl. Clark, who has won C-USA-high 13 league games over the last two seasons, also was a finalist in 2017.

Josh Heupel, UCF: In his first season as a head coach in Orlando, Heupel has fashioned a 12-0 record and has continued what Scott Frost, last season’s Eddie Robinson Award recipient, started before leaving for Nebraska. The Knights have the longest winning streak in the FBS at 25 games and will meet LSU in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl after winning the American Athletic Conference title. The former Oklahoma quarterback, who was previously offensive coordinator at Missouri, has the Knights ranked No. 8 in the College Football Playoff’s final rankings.

Brian Kelly, Notre Dame: One of four coaches on the list who has led his team to an unbeaten record (12-0) in 2018. Kelly claimed the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award in 2012 when the Fighting Irish were also 12-0 before losing to Alabama in the Bowl Championship Series title game. Kelly was a finalist for the award in 2009 when he was at Cincinnati. After posting a 4-8 record in 2016, Notre Dame has now won 22 of its last 25 games and will face Clemson in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl in one College Football Playoff semifinal.

Jeff Monken, Army: Riding a seven-game winning streak, Army stands at 9-2 before its annual meeting against Navy on Saturday in Philadelphia. The triple-option Black Knights, the nation’s No. 2 rushing team (303 ypg), will play in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl against Houston. Monken, also a finalist in 2017, has seen his team drop games to only Duke and Oklahoma this season. The Sooners had to go to overtime before prevailing, 28-21, in Norman and the Black Knights have not lost since.

Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma: The second-year head coach has taken the Sooners to back-to-back 12-1 seasons and College Football Playoff berths. Behind Heisman Trophy hopeful quarterback Kyler Murray, the Sooners have one of college football’s all-time most prolific offenses. The Sooners, No. 4 in the College Football Playoff’s final rankings, defeated Texas in the Big 12 Championship Game and will face Alabama in a College Football Playoff semifinal in the Capital One Orange Bowl. Riley was also a finalist last season.

Nick Saban, Alabama: The Crimson Tide has been the dominant team of the 2018 season and enters the College Football Playoff as the top seed. The Southeastern Conference champions (13-0) will seek to repeat as national champions and start that quest in the Capital One Orange Bowl against Oklahoma. Saban, a five-time finalist for this award, has done a masterful job of keeping a heavy favorite on track despite a nagging injury to his star quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, a Heisman Trophy favorite. While at Alabama, Saban claimed the award in 2008 and also won the award in 2003 while at LSU.

Dabo Swinney, Clemson: Swinney has the Tigers in the College Football Playoff for the fourth straight year with a fourth straight Atlantic Coast Conference championship and a 13-0 record. Swinney is now a four-time finalist for the award (previously in 2011, ’15 and ’17), but has never won it. The Tigers will face Notre Dame in one semifinal the Goodyear Cotton Bowl on Dec. 29 in their first appearance in the Texas-based bowl since 1940. The Tigers are the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff.

Jeff Tedford, Fresno State: In his second season at his alma mater, Tedford took the Bulldogs (11-2) to the Mountain West Conference championship with a 19-16 overtime victory at Boise State. That victory, which avenged a previous loss to the Broncos this season, earned Tedford’s team a berth in the Mitsubishi Motors Las Vegas Bowl against Arizona State. Tedford was also a finalist last season when his Bulldogs made one of the top turnarounds in college football. Fresno State’s only other loss this season was at Minnesota, 21-14.

The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 28 national champions, 93 Hall of Fame players, 49 Hall of Fame coaches and 18 Heisman Trophy winners in its 84-year history. The 85th Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, featuring the Big 12’s Texas and Georgia from the SEC, will be played on January 1, 2019. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1.6 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors nearly 100,000 student-athletes each year and has injected over $2.5 billion into the local economy over the last decade. For more information, visit AllstateSugarBowl.org.

The Eddie Robinson Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA), which encompasses college football’s most prestigious awards. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA and its 24 awards now boast over 800 recipients, dating to 1935. Visit ncfaa.org to learn more about our story.

The Football Writers Association of America, founded in 1941, consists of 1,300 men and women who cover college football. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game-day operations, major awards and its annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its award programs, contact Steve Richardson at tiger@fwaa.com.

Eddie Robinson Award
• Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award | All-time finalists, winners