The selection committee consists of current and past event chairmen, Bryant family representatives, National Sportscasters & Sportswriters Association representatives, Houston sports analysts and former collegiate players and coaches.
In December, a finalists list will be announced and comprised of five to ten coaches. Finalists will attend an awards dinner on Jan. 15, 2009, where the winner will be announced live. The winner of the Bryant College Coach of the Year is voted on by members of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association and is the only college coaching award given after all the bowl games have finished.
Also during the January event, Oklahoma legend and Super Bowl Champion, Coach Barry Switzer, will receive the Bryant Lifetime Achievement Award. The award recognizes excellence in coaching on and off the field during a career, allowing recipients to take their place in history alongside legends such as Bryant. Recent Lifetime Achievement recipients include Tom Osborne, Glenn “Bo” Schembechler, Jack Pardee and Lou Holtz.
Bryant College Coach of the Year Watch List in alphabetical order by coach:
• Tim Brewster - University of Minnesota
• Mack Brown – University of Texas
• Pete Carroll – University of Southern California
• Mark Dantonio - Michigan State University
• Butch Davis – University of North Carolina
• Pat Fitzgerald – Northwestern University
• Ralph Friedgen – University of Maryland
• Todd Graham – University of Tulsa
• Mike Gundy - Oklahoma State University
• Brady Hoke - Ball State University
• Paul Johnson - Georgia Institute of Technology
• Mike Leach - Texas Tech University
• Bronco Mendenhall – Brigham Young University
• Urban Meyer – University of Florida
• Joe Paterno - Penn State
• Gary Patterson – Texas Christian University
• Chris Petersen - Boise State University
• Nick Saban – The University of Alabama
• Bob Stoops – University of Oklahoma
• Kyle Whittingham – University of Utah
The Bryant Awards honor excellence in coaching while raising funds to fight heart disease and stroke, the nation’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers. Bryant himself suffered a heart attack prior to his death in 1983.
Funds raised benefit research, community education and outreach programs of the AHA. For more information, or to purchase tickets or a table for the event, contact Kristin Rodriguez at 713-610-5026 or visit www.americanheart.org/bryantawards.