December 2012
31 posts
13 tags
Meet Our Finalists - Jim Catanzaro, Lake Forest
Image from Go Foresters
Along with a demonstrated high level of enthusiasm, passion, and energy, Coach Catanzaro brings playing and coaching experience from a wide variety of institutions at both the scholarship and non-scholarship levels.
Under “Coach Cat’s” direction, the Foresters have re-written the Foresters record books. In 2011 the Foresters broke 25 school records. Records fell in team...
11 tags
Meet Our Finalists - Jed Stugart, Sioux Falls
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Since taking over in 2010, Stugart has guided the Cougars to consecutive winning seasons that were highlighted by 18 victories and an NAIA national championship appearance.
In his first season at USF, Stugart led the Cougars to a 13-1 record, fifth straight Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) crown and fifth consecutive appearance in the NAIA National Championship...
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Meet Our Finalists - Danny Rocco, Richmond
Image from Sports Network
Rocco brings nearly 30 years of coaching experience to Richmond, including his most recent run as head coach at Liberty University, where he led six consecutive winning seasons with the Flames. Following a highly successful tenure at Liberty, where he was a three-time Big South Coach of the Year winner, Rocco took over a Richmond squad this season that went 3-8 and 0-8...
4 tags
Meet Our Finalists - Mark Maciejewski,...
Image from PennLive
Coach Mac led a team that opened the season with 10 straight victories — eventually establishing Division II’s longest active winning streak and maintaining the honor for several weeks — while also playing in the PSAC State Game and earning the No. 5 seed for Super Region 1 in the 2012 NCAA Football Championships.
The Red Raiders broke or tied 73 school...
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Meet Our Finalists - Lonnie Pries,...
Image from Northernac.org
This past season, Pries led the team to a perfect 10-0 regular season. The Cougars’ 62-26 win over Maranatha Baptist Bible College on Nov. 10 was the team’s 16th consecutive win dating back to October of 2011 and was the longest winning streak at any of the three levels of NCAA football at that time. Concordia earned the automatic berth to the NCAA III...
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Meet Our Finalists - Mark Richt, UGA
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Mark Richt is well known for his legendary leadership as the UGA head coach. This year marks Richt’s 12th season with the University of Georgia. With Richt’s discipline and guidance, the Bulldogs have enjoyed countless victories, including winning two SEC Championships (2002 and 2005) and five SEC Eastern Division titles (2002, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2011). Along with his...
10 tags
Meet Our Finalists - Jeff Monken, Georgia Southern
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Since taking over the Georgia Southern Football team prior to the start of the 2010 season, Monken has put the Eagles back on the national scene with back-to-back FCS Semifinal Appearances and a Southern Conference Championship in just his two years at the helm.
Monken holds a 21-8 career record after two seasons in charge of the program. Since taking over the Eagles, he...
9 tags
Meet Our Finalists - Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Image from NBC
At 43, Dabo Swinney is the youngest head coach in the ACC and one of the youngest in the country, and his resumé is already stuffed with many significant accomplishments on a school, ACC, and national level.
Swinney has led Clemson to a 10-2 record in the regular season, including a 7-1 mark in the ACC, the most regular season conference wins in Clemson history.
...
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Meet Our Finalists - Peter Rossomando, New Haven
Image from New Haven Football Foundation
Rossomando enters his fourth season as head football coach at the University of New Haven and in three short seasons, Rossomando has solidified the program as one of the top in the national and has been recognized for his work on and off the field.
The Chargers enjoyed one of the program’s most successful seasons last year. With the second-most wins in...
9 tags
Meet Our Finalists - Charlie Strong, Louisville
Image from Card Chronicle
Louisville Coach Charlie Strong has led his team to an 11-2 season and one of their first appearances in a big-time bowl game. On January 2nd, 2013 they will be taking on #2 Florida in the Sugar Bowl.
Next year, he leads Louisville into the world of the ACC. The jump up to the new conference provides Louisville with stiffer conference competition, but even stronger...
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Meet Our Finalists - Steve Staker, Coe (Iowa)
Image from The Gazette
Coach Staker won the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year award in 2010 and he’s in the running again after his successful 2012 season.
The 2012 Coe Kohawks had a fantastic team. They went undefeated in the regular season, and imposed their will on many of their opponents. They averaged 39 points per game, while holding their opponents to just 12 points per game. Some...
7 tags
Meet Our Finalists - Jim Mora, UCLA
Image from Kirby Lee/US Presswire
UCLA went 9-4 this year, but their record doesn’t tell the whole story. Jim Mora, their new head coach, took a team with an image of being “soft” or “undisciplined”, and implemented a major cultural shift.
The UCLA athletic department seemed to be comfortable with a 6-7 win season. Jim Mora changed that. He created a winning...
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Meet Our Finalists - Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
Image from ESPN
The SEC seen is widely seen as one of the hardest conferences in college football. This year, Texas A&M, led by Coach Kevin Sumlin, joined the SEC conference.
In his first season with the team, the Aggies have a 10-2 record. Included in their win column was an absolutely stunning upset over Alabama in week 11. Johnny Manziel, the A&M QB, became the first freshman in...
9 tags
Meet Our Finalists - Pat Cerroni,...
Image from uwoshkoshtitans.com
Cerroni is coming off a remarkable season. It was an undefeated season that took them all the way to the conference semi-finals before falling in a devastating loss to another undefeated foe. Coach Cerroni has fielded one of the top teams in UWO history.
However, he’s not all about his winning percentage. He keeps the success of the players in the back of...
7 tags
Meet Our Finalists - Joe Moglia, Coastal Carolina
Image from PostandCourier.com
Joe Moglia’s success at Coastal Carolina has been shocking. Many did not know what to expect. Coach Moglia came to the team not with an extensive background as an offensive coordinator, or head coach. He came to the team as the former CEO of TD Ameritrade. He left the company to “pursue other interests” and landed at Coastal Carolina.
While the...
Meet Our Finalists - Glenn Caruso, St. Thomas...
When it comes to the success of Glenn Caruso at St. Thomas, the numbers speak for themselves. Coach Caruso took a 2-8 team in 2007 and led them to 54 wins over the last five years. In 2012, the team went undefeated.
Coach Caruso immerses himself in his football program, and he brings a strong work ethic that he credits to his parents. He expects the same sense of integrity and responsibility...
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Meet Our Finalists - Nick Saban, Alabama
Image from The Birmingham News
Saban has compiled a 153-55-1 (.734) record as a college head coach and has gone 60-7 (.896) in the past five seasons in Tuscaloosa, which includes a 35-5 mark in regular-season conference play. In 2012, the Tide reached the 10-win milestone for the fifth consecutive season under Saban.
Under his guidance, Alabama has remained at the forefront of the college...
8 tags
Meet Our Finalists - Willie Fritz, Sam Houston...
Image from GoBearKats.com
Willie Fritz has directed Sam Houston State to a 20-5 record in his two seasons as Bearkat head football coach. His 20 wins rank as Sam Houston’s most victories in a two-year span.
Before he was the head coach at Blinn College, the team had gone 5-24-1 the prior three years. Under his tutelage, they went 39-5-1 and won two national championships.
At Central...
8 tags
Meet Our Finalists - Urban Meyer, Ohio State
Image from Wall Street Journal
In 2011, the Ohio State Buckeyes had a 6-7 record. In 2012, they have a 12-0 record and have won the Leaders Division Crown. What changed? A new coach.
Ohio State hired Urban Meyer for the 2012 season and he has completely turned the team around. This isn’t the first-time he’s done this, either. A coach known for his result-oriented approach, he won...
5 tags
Meet Our Finalists - Scott Maxfield, Henderson...
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Coach Maxfield took over the Henderson State Reddies in 2005, and the team has been on an upward trajectory ever since. During the first year with Maxifield at the helm, the team only lost three games.
As he has done with past teams, Coach Maxfield put a high-powered offense in place, averaging over 500 yards and 50 points per game in 2012. Over the course of the...
6 tags
Meet Our Finalists - Bill O'Brien, Penn State
Image from ESPN
Bill O’Brien came into sanction-ridden Penn State this year, understanding that it would truly be a coaching challenge of the greatest magnitude. Scholarship limits, recruiting limits and more. And the results so far under Bill O’Brien’s first full year as head coach seem to be doing quite well.
O’Brien led the Nittany Lions to victories in eight of their...
6 tags
Meet Our Finalists - Bob Nielson, Minnesota Duluth
Image from MinnPost
Coach Bob Nielson of the Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs is one of the most decorated coaches in the history of the team and all of NCAA D-II football. He’s taken home coach of the year honors from a multitude of sources, and he’s even won two consecutive Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year honors.
It’s not hard to see why. His track record is phenomenal: two...
8 tags
Meet Our Finalists - Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
Image from nj.com
The turnaround that Kelly has led at Notre Dame is remarkable, especially considering where the program was before he got there. Notre Dame has a 12-0 regular season for the first time since 1988 and just the second time in school history, not to mention this is the Notre Dame’s first chance to play for a national title in over 20 years.
Kelly’s 28 wins at Notre Dame in his...
8 tags
Meet Our Finalists – Rob Ash, Montana State
Image from montana.edu
Coach Ash has went above and beyond this season by leading the Bobcats to an 11-1 record, the highest total for the Bobcats since 1984. Ash became the program’s all-time winningest coach this season, guiding the program to the Big Sky Conference title for the third consecutive year, the longest streaks in the school’s history. With the season winding down, the Bobcats are...
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Army Pays Homage to WWII With New Gear For the...
Nike, in charge of uniform designs for college football, have gotten creative in years past for the Army-Navy game. Every year, these two teams get uniforms that have been specifically designed for certain games only.
Just Tuesday, Army unveiled its new kit for the final game of the regular season.
Their uniforms are black and gold, the classic color combination of the tri-year national...
20 tags
November 2012
42 posts
9 tags
9 tags
Think you know everything about college football?
Come win an Archie Manning signed football with your college football knowledge.
We will be hosting Trivia Monday on December 3rd. One question will be tweeted on @lmcoachofyear every hour starting at 10:00a.m. and will last until 7p.m. A total of 10 questions will be asked, and the first 5 people to tweet us back with 5 correct answers using #COTYtrivia will receive an Archie Manning signed...
10 tags
10 Fun Facts About Some of the Greatest College...
Lavell Edwards Stadium, Brigham Young University
Until 2005, storage underneath the stadium was home to part of the largest collection of Jurassic fossils in North America.
Rice-Eccles Stadium, University of Utah
While the stadium is not extraordinary in and of itself, the Utes have outdone themselves when it comes to the “tower”.
The tower is home to six levels, and each level...
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