Dec. 24, 2005
HOUSTON - The Houston Division of the American Heart Association today announced the finalists (with ties) for the Paul "Bear" Bryant College Football Coach of the Year Award, as voted on by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. Continuing this 48-year- old tradition, the winner will be chosen in a final round of balloting and named at an award dinner benefiting the American Heart Association on Jan. 11 at the Hilton Americas in downtown Houston.
The finalists, in alphabetical order, are: Mike Bellotti, Oregon; Mack Brown, Texas; Pete Carroll, Southern California; George O'Leary, UCF; Joe Paterno, Penn State; Mark Richt, Georgia; Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia; Mike Shula, Alabama; Steve Spurrier, South Carolina; Jim Tressel, Ohio State; Tommy Tuberville, Auburn; Charlie Weis, Notre Dame.
Known as one of the most innovative defensive coaches in football, O'Leary has reshaped the UCF program in his two seasons as head coach. This year, he has posted the biggest turnaround in major college football, transforming last year's winless season into an 8 4 record and nearly winning the Conference USA title.
O'Leary will take the Golden Knights to the team's first ever bowl appearance in the Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. O'Leary is a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award.
ABOUT THE PAUL "BEAR" BRYANT AWARD
While the Coach of the Year Award has been an annual tradition since 1957, the American Heart Association adopted and re-named the award in 1986 to honor Paul "Bear" Bryant, who died of a heart attack in 1983. The Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year dinner and award presentation appropriately has become a major annual fund raiser for the Houston Division of the American Heart Association, with many business and community leaders and sports figures annually lending support to the event. Proceeds from the event assist in funding Houston-area research grants. The American Heart Association leads the fight against heart disease and stroke, the No. 1 and No. 3 killers in the U.S., through research, education and advocacy programs.