1/5/2021 football Edit

Allen is a finalist for Munger Coach of the Year Award

Paul Gable • TheHoosier

Staff Writer

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Indiana head football coach Tom Allen is a finalist for the George Munger College Coach of the Year Award, which is presented yearly by the Maxwell Football Club. The announcement was made Monday afternoon and the winner will be announced Jan. 15.

The other five finalists are: Ohio State's Ryan Day, Coastal Carolina's Jamey Chadwell, Cincinnati's Luke Fickell, Liberty's Hugh Freeze and Alabama's Nick Saban.

Voting opened today for the finalist section of the award, and eligible voters include NCAA Bowl Subdivision head coaches and football Sports Information Directors, Maxwell Football Club members and selected national media.

Allen is a finalist for the Dodd Trophy, the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award and the Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year Award. He was named the Big Ten's Hayes-Schembechler Coach of the Year (coaches vote) and Dave McClain Coach of the Year (media vote) , and was also recognized as the American Football Coaches Association Region 3 Coach of the Year.

The Hoosiers lost to Ole Miss 26-20 in the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla.

Below are some of the program's notable 2020 achievements:

Indiana is playing in consecutive January bowls for the first time in school history.

IU is ranked for a program record ninth-consecutive week, coming in at No. 7 in the Associated Press Top 25 and at No. 8 in the Amway Coaches Poll presented by USA Today Sports.

The Hoosiers have been ranked in the Top 10 six times in 2020, the second-most in school history (9 weeks in 1945).

Indiana collected its first Top-10 ranking in the Nov. 8 AP Poll (No. 10) since Sept. 22, 1969 (No. 10).

IU's No. 7 rating is its best in the AP Poll since Nov. 27, 1967 (No. 4).

The Hoosiers three Top-25 victories are tied for the second-most in the country behind Alabama's four.

Their three Top-25 wins also matched the 1945 team's program record.

Indiana's 6-1 record is its best overall start since 1993 (7-1).

IU has defeated PSU, U-M, MSU and UW in the same season for the first time in program history and beaten the Wolverines and Spartans in the same year for the first time since 1967.

Eligible voters include Maxwell Football Club members, NCAA Head Football Coaches, Sports Information Directors and selected national media. Ed Orgeron of LSU was the 2019 winner of the award.