COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Saint John's University head coach John Gagliardi has been named a finalist for the 2009 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award, which honors the college football coaches who best exemplify responsibility and excellence on and off the field of play.
Between Dec. 15-29, fans can visit www.CoachoftheYear.com to vote among the finalists. Fan votes constitute 20 percent of a coach's final score. The winner will be announced on Jan. 6 in advance of the BCS Championship Game in Los Angeles. Gagliardi won the 2007 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award for Division III and has been a finalist for each of the past three seasons.
To ensure candidates are evaluated fairly and measured against the specific values of responsibility and integrity, selection committees of College Football Hall of Fame players and coaches – including Archie Manning, Lou Holtz, Vince Dooley, Ronnie Lott, and Jerry Rice – and the national college football media will also cast votes for the winners. Hall of Fame and media votes account for 55 percent and 25 percent, respectively.
“Many passionate fans came out to vote for John Gagliardi because he embodies the college football spirit and the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year values,” said Greg Gordon, senior vice president of Consumer Marketing at Liberty Mutual. “Gagliardi has made a great impact on the lives of his student athletes and his community and we are proud to recognize him as a Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year finalist.”
Joining Gagliardi as a finalist for Division III are Steve Briggs, Susquehanna University; Greg Debeljak, Case Western Reserve University; Steve Staker, Coe College; and John Troxell, Franklin & Marshall College.
Each division winner receives $50,000 from Liberty Mutual to support his civic and charitable activities, $20,000 in scholarship to his school's alumni association, and is recognized in the permanent Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year display at the National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind.
Gagliardi's 2007 award helped form the new Saint John's University Alumni Association Endowed Scholarship with the $20,000 grant for the Saint John University Alumni Association. Gagliardi donated his other $50,000 winnings to Saint John's University as well.
The first active head coach to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame (Class of 2006), Gagliardi (Guh-lahr-dee) ended his 61st season as a collegiate head football coach and 57th season as head coach in Collegeville in 2009. The Johnnies finished the 2009 season with a 10-1 record (8-0 MIAC) to earn their MIAC-record 31st conference championship and 27th under the direction of Gagliardi. SJU made its 24th postseason appearance and 11th appearance in the NCAA Division III playoffs in the past 12 seasons. The winningest coach all-time in college football history, Gagliardi currently owns a 471-126-11 (.784) collegiate career record and a 447-120-10 (.783) record at SJU. Gagliardi's 61 years of collegiate coaching is the most in college football history, surpassing the prior record of 57 years by former University of Chicago and University of the Pacific coach Amos Alonzo Stagg (1890-1946). Gagliardi tied the all-time collegiate win record, held by former Grambling State head coach Eddie Robinson, on Nov. 1, 2003, and broke the all-time record Nov. 8, 2003, on the way to a perfect 14-0 season and an NCAA Division III championship. Gagliardi also broke Robinson's record for the most games coached in college football history (588) Sept. 20, 2008, against Concordia-Moorhead. He also coached his 600th game on Sept. 19, 2009, against the Cobbers.
While at Saint John's, Gagliardi has coached four national championship teams (1963, 1965, 1976 and 2003) and made the 2000 national title game. His teams have reached the national semifinals in 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 2001 and 2002. In 2001, Gagliardi became only the third coach in NCAA college football history to coach 500 career games. As a collegiate coach (Carroll/Saint John's), Gagliardi's teams have won 30 conference titles, including 2008 and 2009, and have appeared in 58 post-season games. In the past 42 years, SJU has been nationally ranked 41 times, and it owns a 39-19 postseason record. In 1993, SJU averaged 61.5 points per game, setting a record that might never be broken.
In addition to his various head coaching duties, Gagliardi has also been athletic director at both Carroll (1949-53) and Saint John's (1976-94). In June 2006, Gagliardi was inducted into the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Hall of Fame.
Launched in 2006, Liberty Mutual created the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award to celebrate responsible coaching because it is one of the clearest examples of a positive influence on young people, their families and entire communities. Past winners include 2006 – Greg Schiano (Rutgers); 2007 – Ron Zook (Illinois), Jerry Kill (Southern Illinois), Bill O'Boyle (Chadron State), John Gagliardi (Saint John's); 2008 – Nick Saban (Alabama), Mickey Matthews (James Madison), Chuck Broyles (Pittsburg State), Larry Kehres (Mount Union).
