PHILADELPHIA – Fresno State head coach Jeff Tedford was named a 2017 semifinalist for the George Munger College Coach of the Year Award on Thursday, which is presented yearly by the Maxwell Football Club. The list includes a field of 16 candidates for the award who have been selected by the MFC National Selection Committee.
In Tedford's first year leading his alma mater, the Bulldogs (7-3, 5-1 MW) own the nation's best win improvement (+6) and are seeking a berth into the Mountain West Championship game this Saturday with a win at Wyoming. If Fresno State wins, it will tie the program record for win improvement set in 1929, and will claim their first MW West Division title since 2014.
Earlier this season, Fresno State clinched its first bowl berth since 2014, and in doing so, Tedford became the third coach in Fresno State history to lead the Bulldogs to a bowl berth as a first year coach in school history.
At Cal, Tedford was a 2006 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year finalist, and was also the Pac-10 Coach of the Year in 2002 and 2004.
2017 George Munger Collegiate Coach of the Year Semi-Finalists
(all semifinalists are listed in alphabetical order with the coach's school designated)
Matt Campbell, Iowa State
Paul Chryst, Wisconsin
Bill Clark, Alabama-Birmingham
Mark Dantonio, Michigan State
Scott Frost, Central Florida
Lane Kiffin, Florida Atlantic
Gus Malzahn, Auburn
Jeff Monken, Army
Dan Mullen, Mississippi State
Mark Richt, Miami
Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma
Rich Rodriguez, Arizona
Nick Saban, Alabama
Kirby Smart, Georgia
Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Jeff Tedford, Fresno State
Semifinalist voting for the Maxwell Football Club Collegiate Coach of the Year award will begin on Friday, Nov. 17 and close on Monday, Dec. 11. The finalist round will include the top three coaches as selected in the semifinalist round. Finalist voting will open Dec. 12 and run until Dec. 26. The winner will be announced Dec. 27.
The formal presentation of the George Munger Collegiate Coach of the Year Award will take place at the Maxwell Football Club's National Awards Gala on Friday, March 9, 2018 at the Tropicana Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Eligible voters include Maxwell Football Club members, NCAA Head Football Coaches, Sports Information Directors and selected national media. Nick Saban of the University of Alabama was the 2016 winner of the award.
