Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz was named on Monday to the Dodd Trophy 2024 preseason watch list.
Presented by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation, Peach Bowl, Inc. and PNC Bank, Ferentz is among 21 college football coaches on the Dodd Trophy 2024 preseason watch list.
The Dodd Trophy is one of college football’s most prestigious head coaching awards and celebrates the head coach of a team who enjoys success on the gridiron, while also stressing the importance of scholarship, leadership and integrity, the three pillars of legendary coach Bobby Dodd’s coaching philosophy.
The watch list was created through a selection process by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Peach Bowl, Inc. It took into consideration each program’s Academic Progress Rate (APR), Graduation Success Rate (GSR), commitment to service and charity in the community, as well as projected success for the 2024 season.
Ferentz won the Dodd Trophy during the 2015 season when Iowa started the season 12-0 and won its first Big Ten West title.
Kirk Ferentz is 1️⃣ of 2️⃣1️⃣ coaches named to the Dodd Trophy preseason watch list.#Hawkeyes pic.twitter.com/eSaZE5PW60
— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) July 8, 2024
“The Dodd Trophy continues to be the most coveted coach of the year award due to what we call the ‘Dodd Difference,’ where coaches are held to a higher standard, both on and off the field,” said Jim Terry, chairman of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation.
“This award is about more than just wins on the gridiron, but also focuses on how these coaches embody leadership with their student-athletes in the classroom and throughout their communities. As a result, we only consider coaches whose programs have earned the highest APRs and require coaches to have at least two years of experience leading their current programs, so that they have had time to establish a precedent at their universities.”
Ferentz has been a model of consistency for the Hawkeyes. As college football’s longest tenured head coach, Ferentz is set to embark upon his 26th season as Iowa’s head coach. Ferentz is Iowa’s all-time winningest head coach with 196 wins, including 122 Big Ten victories.
The Hawkeyes won Big Ten championships under Ferentz in 2002 and 2004 and Big Ten West division titles in 2015, 2021 and 2023. Iowa has also had 13 individual national award winners and 89 NFL draft picks during Ferentz’s time as head coach.
Ferentz has led the Hawkeyes to 21 bowl invitations, including 13 January bowl game appearances. Iowa has won 10 or more games eight times under his direction and has been ranked in the final top 25 of the US LBM Coaches Poll in four of the past five seasons.
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