Thus far, the vast majority of major coaching awards have gone to either Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly or Penn State’s Bill O’Brien.
Saturday evening, that award path veered toward yet another well-deserving candidate.
It was announced during halftime of the Chick-fil-A Bowl that Kansas State’s Bill Snyder has been named the recipient of the 2012 Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year award. It’s the second time -- 1998 being the first -- Snyder has claimed the award, which has been handed out annually since 1976 and is voted on by previous winners as well as what the press release describes as “a vote from a blue-ribbon panel made up from the ‘who’s who’ in college football.”
“The entire K-State family congratulates Coach Snyder on being named the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year,” said Athletics Director John Currie. “What makes this award even more special is its focus on character and academic excellence, in addition to a team’s success on the field, and Coach Snyder is the epitome of those values.”
Predicted to finish sixth in the Big 12 in a preseason poll, the Wildcats went on to an 11-win regular season and staked its claim to the program’s the third conference championship and first since 2003. Following the season, Snyder was named the Big 12’s Coach of the Year.
KSU will represent the conference in the Fiesta Bowl Jan. 3 against Oregon and could become the first team in school history to post 12 wins in a single season.