WACO, Texas, Dec. 10, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — Utah head football coach Kyle Whittingham has been named the American Football Coaches Association Football Bowl Subdivision Region 5 Coach of the Year.
Whittingham is a finalist for the National Coach of the Year, which will be announced at the American Football Coaches Awards on Tuesday, Jan. 14, during the 2020 AFCA Convention in Nashville, Tennessee, said a news release from University of Utah Athletics.
“The 2008 AFCA FBS National Coach of the Year, Whittingham earns his first regional honor after leading Utah to an 11-2 record, the Pac-12 South Division title and an appearance in the Valero Alamo Bowl,” the news release said.
In his 15th season as head coach at Utah, Whittingham has an overall record of 131-63. He is the longest-tenured coach in the Pac-12 Conference and the third-longest tenured head coach in FBS, the news release said. Whittingham is in his 26th season overall at Utah, beginning as the Utes defensive line coach in 1994.
Utah is 11-2 in bowls games under Whittingham and his .846 bowl winning percentage ranks second all-time in FBS history among coaches who have won at least seven bowl games. Utah has made the sixth-most appearances of any school in the College Football Playoff rankings since it began in 2014.
“Whittingham earned the 2008 national honor after guiding the Utes to a 13-0 record, the Mountain West Conference title and a victory in the Sugar Bowl,” the news release said. “His victories also include a win in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl as co-coach with Urban Meyer.”
Whittingham has had 15 players make major All-America teams (those determining the NCAA’s consensus team), won 81 first-team all-conference awards and had 86 players sign contracts with NFL teams.
