Swinney Finalist for Bear Bryant Award

Clemson, S.C.—Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney has been named a finalist for the Paul “Bear” Bryant Award. The award sponsored by the American Heart Association and Marathon Oil Corporation will be presented Jan. 11, 2017 in Houston, Texas.

The finalists for the award are Swinney, Paul Chryst (Wisconsin), P.J. Fleck (Western Michigan), James Franklin (Penn State), Clay Helton (Southern California), Dana Holgorsen (West Virginia), Mike MacIntyre (Colorado), Nick Saban (Alabama) and Bob Stoops (Oklahoma).

Swinney won the award last year when he took the Tigers to the National Championship game and a 14-1 record.  This year’s team is 12-1 and has again qualified for the College Football Playoff. The No. 2 seeded Tigers meet Ohio State on December 31 in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl.   Clemson won its second straight ACC Championship with a 42-35 win over Virginia Tech earlier this month.

The award will be voted on by the National Sports Media Association after the bowl season.   The Jan. 11th event will be televised by Fox College Sports. Tickets are available at www.bryantawards.com