MORGANTOWN, W.Va. –  West Virginia University football coach Dana Holgorsen is one of nine finalists for the 2016 Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Award, with the national coach of the year being named at the organization’s banquet, tonight, at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

 

The finalists represent the country’s finest college football coaches: Paul Chryst (Wisconsin), P.J. Fleck (Western Michigan), James Franklin (Penn State), Clay Helton (USC), Holgorsen, Mike MacIntyre (Colorado), Nick Saban (Alabama), Bob Stoops (Oklahoma) and Dabo Swinney (Clemson).

 

Holgorsen was honored last night at the American Football Coaches Association’s Awards Show in Nashville, Tennessee, as the District 4 Regional Coach of the Year and a finalist for the national coach of the year.

 

West Virginia finished its 2016 campaign with a 10-3 overall record and a 7-2 mark in the Big 12, tying for second place. The football program won 10 games for the ninth time in program history and the seven wins are the most as a league member.

 

West Virginia was ranked in both major polls for most of the 2016 season, spending time in the Top 10, and finished No. 18 in the final Associated Press Poll and No. 17 in the Amway Coaches’ Poll.

 

The American Heart Association’s Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Award is voted on by the National Sports Media Association, formerly known as National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, and has honored many of the game’s greatest leaders, including Clemson’s Dabo Swinney in 2016. 

 

Since 1986, the Bryant Awards have raised more than $7 million to fund AHA research, advocacy and educational programs across the country aimed at the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. Prior to his death of a heart attack in 1983, “Bear” always talked about being bigger than something other than himself and the Bryant Award offers an opportunity to do just that – to be a part of Team Bryant in the fight against cardiovascular diseases. 

 

Marathon Oil Corporation has served as the presenting sponsor of the Bryant Awards for the past eight years, underscoring the Company’s commitment to health and wellness and supporting initiatives that promote the well-being of workers and their families both on and off the job.  The Company also values the communities in which its employees live and work, and strives to partner with local community leaders to recognize and advance important public health initiatives that promote the common good and protect the public.