By Jordan Hansen
Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz has been named the 2015 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year.
The Football Writers Association of America and the Allstate Sugar Bowl hand out the award, which will be presented to Ferentz on Jan 9, 2016, in Scottsdale, Arizona before the College Football Playoff Final.
“It is rewarding to see the hard work of our entire coaching staff and every member of our football program being recognized on the national level,” Ferentz said in a release. “I appreciate the acknowledgement of our accomplishments. I am honored to share this recognition with our staff, our players, and our great fans, and I am grateful to the University of Iowa for providing the necessary support for our success.”
The award is named after the late Eddie Robinson, who coached at Grambling State University for 55 seasons. Before that, he was a graduate student at the University of Iowa.
While this is the first time Ferentz has won the award; he was a finalist in 2002 and 2004.
The Iowa football team started the regular season 12-0, the first time in school history and the most wins in school history. The Hawkeyes rose as high as No. 4 in the College Football Playoff Rankings, and they currently sit at No. 5.
While the Hawkeyes fell 16-13 in the Big Ten Championship, the team was picked to play in the Rose Bowl against Pac-12 champion No. 6 Stanford. The game will be Ferentz’s first Rose Bowl as a head coach. He now ranks seventh in Big Ten history in conference wins and eighth in total victories.
Other finalists for the award included Tom Herman of Houston, Mark Dantonio of Michigan State, Brian Kelly of Notre Dame, Dabo Swinney of Clemson, Matt Ruhle of Temple, Bob Stoops of Oklahoma, and David Shaw of Stanford.