Every year, Liberty Mutual Insurance sponsors a “Coach of the Year” contest. . One coach from each NCAA division is honored with a trophy, $50,000 for the charity of his choice, and a $20,000 scholarship endowment for his school’s alumni association.


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The voting for this year’s “Coach of the Year” started on Sept. 14 and will last through Dec. 4.
Fans can go to the site, coachoftheyear.com, once per day to vote for their favorite coach. The top 15 vote from each division will make it to the Evaluation Process Phase.
The Evaluation Process Phase, Dec. 5-12, consists of an analysis of the top coaches.
According to the website: “Each coach must meet the Coaching Excellence, Sportsmanship and Integrity, Academic Excellence and Community Commitment criteria. And out of these eligible coaches, the top ten from Division IA, as well as the top five from Divisions IAA, II and III will pass through to the Finalist phase.”
The next phase, Finalist Fan Voting/Committee Voting, is Dec. 13-28. This is the fans’ final chance to vote. In addition to fan voting, selected members of the College Football Hall of Fame and National Media will be voting for the coaches they feel most embody the “Coach of the Year” Criteria.
After the final phase of voting, all of the votes are tallied. The voting breakdown is as follows: Fan Vote, 20 percent; Hall of Fame vote, 55 percent; and National Media vote, 25 percent. Winners are announced early January.
Texas Christian University coach Gary Patterson won the Division IA award last year. He donated his $50,000 to the Presbyterian Night Shelter. But, many charities have been helped through this contest, including, but not limited to the following:
• “Best Friends of Pets”
• “Coach Kill Cancer Fund”
• “Athletes in Action”
• “Habitat for Humanity”
• “Big Brothers Big Sisters”
• “Kids Across America”
As of Sept. 23, Auburn’s Coach Gene Chizik is in the lead of Division IA. He is ahead of the number two spot by around 8,000 votes. In second place, is University of Alabama’s Coach Nick Saban, winner of the award in 2008.
Chizik’s lead may be due to the efforts of Auburn students spreading the word. Michael Pittman, a sophomore at Auburn University, created a Facebook event to attract voters. So far, 7,038 people are “attending” this event and leaving encouraging wall posts.
“I created the group because Chizik is the best coach in my opinion,” Pittman said. “Chizik’s really made our football team into more than just a team, it’s more of a family. He’s inspired us all to cheer on our team and I think we should all rally around him and help him get ‘Coach of the Year’.”
Connor Bradley is a frequent poster to the event’s wall. In one post he wrote, “It’s not just about winning games. The website says, ‘Each winner embodied sportsmanship, integrity, responsibility, and excellence, both on and off the field.’ Gene embodies all of that.”
Chizik fans have been posting “War Damn Chizik” to Facebook and Twitter, and more posts are added every day.
Also spreading the word is Amanda Hodge, marketing director with the Office of Alumni Affairs.
“We’re encouraging everyone to vote for Chizik this year. Even if we just win the popular vote, the University will receive $10,000 for scholarships. So, vote Chizik!”