Swinney Finalist for Bear Bryant Award

Dec. 14, 2011

CLEMSON, SC – Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney is one of 10 finalists for the Bear Bryant Award, the National Coach of the Year Award presented by the American Heart Association. The award is sponsored by the Marathon Oil Corporation.

This year’s finalists are Swinney, Bret Bielema of Wisconsin, Art Briles of Baylor, Mike Gundy of Oklahoma State, Brady Hoke of Michigan, Les Miles of LSU, Nick Saban of Alabama, David Shaw of Stanford, Bill Snyder of Kansas State, and Kevin Sumlin of Houston (now at Texas A&M).

The award will be announced and presented on January 19 in Houston, TX. That event will also honor former Iowa Head Coach Hayden Fry who will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Swinney has also been named a regional Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association.

Swinney guided Clemson to the ACC Championship this year with a 38-10 win over Virginia Tech in the title game, the first for the Clemson program in 20 years. The Tigers defeated teams ranked in the top 25 four times this year, tied for second in the nation and the most in one year in Clemson history. Clemson’s win over third-ranked Virginia Tech tied for the highest ranked team Clemson has defeated in its history.

The 10-3 Tigers have gained the most wins in a season in 21 years for the program and a victory over West Virginia in the Discover Orange Bowl would give Clemson 11 wins for the first time in 30 years.

This is the third award that Swinney has been listed as a finalist. He is also one of five finalists for the Eddie Robinson Award and one of 10 finalists for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award.