Liberty Mutual Coach Of The Year Returns For Eighth Season, Honoring College Football's Top Leaders On The Field And …

BOSTON, Sept. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Every year college football fans around the country come out to support their teams with great passion, showing pride for their gridiron heroes and alma maters. Liberty Mutual Insurance gives fans a daily opportunity to express that fervor by opening voting for the 2013 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award, the only college football award that supports both charity and scholarship through its winners by celebrating one coach at each college level who best exemplifies responsibility, integrity, sportsmanship and excellence both on and off the field.

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Each of the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year winners from four college football divisions FBS, FCS, Division II, and Division III receives $50,000 from Liberty Mutual Insurance to donate to the charity or charities of their choice. These funds have been used by winning coaches to benefit such organizations as Big Brothers Big Sisters, Habitat for Humanity, Lone Survivor Foundation, local Boys & Girls Clubs, Special Olympics and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. In addition, winning coaches earn $20,000 for their school's alumni association to support scholarship. Since 2006, Liberty Mutual Insurance has awarded $1.8 million to more than 100 charities and colleges across the country through its Coach of the Year Award winners.

Now through December 3, fans can visit CoachoftheYear.com to cast their vote for their favorite coach in each of the four divisions. Additionally, fans can also vote for the first time on Facebook at Facebook.com/LMCoachoftheYear, where they also are encouraged to rally support for their coach through their social community. Winning coaches will be announced January 6, 2014, prior to the national championship game.

"The Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award stands for something unique, as it is not just about coaches' on-field success, but also their strong character and commitment to their student-athletes and communities," said Archie Manning, Chairman of the National Football Foundation & College Football Hall of Fame. "I am very proud to recognize, with Liberty Mutual Insurance and the National Football Foundation, some of the best leaders in the game today and welcome fans to do the same by casting their votes at CoachoftheYear.com and on Facebook."

Created in partnership with The National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame, this year's campaign will also contain such new features as: voting on Facebook; exclusive video content featuring college football coaches; and original articles, photos and videos by a network of college student-correspondents.

Determining Finalists and Winners

Following the close of fan voting on December 3, the top 15 coaches with the most fan votes in each of the four college football divisions advance to an evaluation process to determine the finalists. This process utilizes an objective scoring model endorsed by the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame to measure coaching excellence, sportsmanship, integrity, academic success and community commitment.

From that model, 10 FBS finalists and five each in FCS, Division II and Division III will be announced December 10 at a press conference held in conjunction with the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame Class of 2013 induction in New York City. A finalist round of voting will then reopen for fans, while at the same time ballots will be cast by members of the College Football Hall of Fame and a select group of the national college football media to determine this year's winners. The 2013 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award winners will be announced in Newport Beach, Calif., on Monday, January 6, 2014, in advance of the national championship game.

This year's recipients will join a fraternity of college coaches who have supported their players to achieve excellence both on and off the field. Most recently, the 2012 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award winners were Brian Kelly, Notre Dame (FBS); Willie Fritz, Sam Houston State (FCS); Peter Rossomando, University of New Haven (Division II); and Glenn Caruso, University of St. Thomas (Division III).

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Liberty Mutual Coach Of The Year Returns For Eighth Season, Honoring College Football's Top Leaders On The Field And ...