Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award now presented by Chick-fil-A Bowl

ATLANTA (Dec. 20, 2011) – In keeping with its commitment to scholarship and service, the Chick-fil-A Bowl today announced an elevated partnership with the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award. The award will now be known as the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award presented by the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

“The Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award is the preeminent national award in coaching and we hope that the growing partnership with the Chick-fil-A Bowl will further enhance both brands,” said Gary Stokan, Chick-fil-A Bowl president and CEO. “The primary tenets of this prestigious award are scholarship, leadership and integrity – characteristics we also embrace at the Chick-fil-A Bowl.”

Presented annually since 1976, the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award is presented to Bowl Championship Series college football coaches whose programs enjoy a successful football season, while also stressing the importance of academic excellence and character, as did Coach Dodd’s teams during his 22 years as head football coach of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. One of only three men elected to the College Football Hall of Fame as both a coach and a player, Coach Dodd guided the Jackets to the national championship in 1952.

“This award recognizes the most outstanding head football coach in America and has a long history which includes some of the most iconic names in coaching,” said Jim Terry, chairman of the Dodd Foundation.

Past recipients of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award include some of the biggest names in college football, such as Frank Beamer, Bobby Bowden, Tom Osborne, Bob Stoops and Bo Schembechler. Nine winners have won national championships since the award’s inception.

The 2011 winner will be announced December 31 on ESPN during halftime of the Chick-fil-A Bowl telecast. In early spring, Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Chick-fil-A Bowl officials will host a banquet on the winning coach’s campus to officially present him with the award.

The 44th annual Chick-fil-A Bowl will pit Virginia against No. 25 Auburn in an ACC vs. SEC rivalry game Dec. 31 in the Georgia Dome. The ACC leads the series against the SEC 10-9 since the rivals have played in Atlanta’s Bowl dating to 1992.

For more information on the Chick-fil-A Bowl, visit www.chick-fil-abowl.com, or follow us on Twitter (@chickfilabowl).

For more information on the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award, visit www.bobbydoddfoundation.com.