Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award facts for kids

The Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award is a special prize given every year to a top college football coach. This award celebrates coaches whose teams do great things not just on the football field, but also in school and in their local communities.

What is the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award?

This award is given to a head coach from one of the best college football teams. These teams are part of the Division I FBS. It's not just about winning games! The award looks for coaches whose teams are also excellent in the classroom. This means players do well in their studies. It also means they help out in their local communities.

Who was Bobby Dodd?

The award is named after a famous coach named Bobby Dodd. He was a longtime head football coach at Georgia Tech. The award started in 1976 to honor the important values that Coach Dodd believed in. These values include teamwork, good sportsmanship, and helping others.

How is the Winner Chosen?

A group of college football experts chooses the new winner. All the coaches who have won the award before also help pick the next winner. The winner is announced during halftime of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl game in Atlanta. Later, a special event is held, usually at the winner's university. Coaches who won in the last two years cannot win again right away. Also, coaches in their first year at a new team cannot win.

Award Winners

Many great coaches have won the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award.

Coaches Who Won Twice

Two coaches have won this award more than once. Bill Snyder from Kansas State University won in 1998 and again in 2012. Joe Paterno from Penn State won in 1981 and again in 2005.

Schools with Multiple Winners

Nine different schools have had two different coaches win the award.

• Alabama had Bill Curry (1989) and Nick Saban (2014).
• Michigan had Bo Schembechler (1977) and Lloyd Carr (2007).
• Air Force had Ken Hatfield (1983) and Fisher DeBerry (1985).
• Georgia Tech had Bobby Ross (1990) and George O'Leary (2000).
• Northwestern had Gary Barnett (1995) and Pat Fitzgerald (2020).
• TCU had Jim Wacker (1984) and Gary Patterson (2009).
• Duke had Fred Goldsmith (1994) and David Cutcliffe (2013).
• The Florida State Seminoles had Bobby Bowden (1980) and Mike Norvell (2023).
• The Notre Dame Fighting Irish had Brian Kelly (2018) and Marcus Freeman (2024).

List of Winners by Year