Whittingham Named Dodd Trophy Winner
12/27/2019 7:36 AM | Football
ATLANTA – Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham has been named the winner of the 2019 Dodd Trophy, honoring the head football coach whose program embodies the award's three pillars of scholarship, leadership and integrity, while also having success on the playing field throughout the season.
"I would like the thank the Dodd Trophy selection committee and the Chik-Fil-A Peach Bowl for this distinguished award," Whittingham said. "Being named the Dodd Trophy Coach of the Year is a tremendous honor, and is only possible because of the hard work and tremendous effort of the entire University of Utah Football team and staff. Our program strives to embody the three principles defined by Coach Dodd: Scholarship, leadership and integrity. These principles attest to doing things the right way."
Whittingham led Utah to an 11-2 record, the Pac-12 South Division title and an appearance in the Valero Alamo Bowl. Eight players earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors, including Offensive Player of the Year Zack Moss. Bradlee Anae was the defensive winner of the Morris Trophy and Anae, Moss, Julian Blackmon, Leki Fotu and Jaylon Johnson all earned All-America honors from one of the five major teams.
In his 15th season as head coach at Utah, Whittingham has an overall record of 131-63. He is the longest-tenured coach in the Pac-12 Conference and the third-longest tenured head coach in FBS. Whittingham is in his 26th season overall at Utah, beginning as the Utes defensive line coach in 1994.
Utah is 11-2 in bowls games under Whittingham and his .846 bowl winning percentage ranks second all-time in FBS history among coaches who have won at least seven bowl games. His victories include a win in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl as co-coach with Urban Meyer and the 2009 Sugar Bowl after leading Utah to a 13-0 season that year. Utah has made the sixth-most appearances of any school in the College Football Playoff rankings since it began in 2014.
Individually, Whittingham has had 20 players make major All-America teams (those determining the NCAA's consensus team), won 89 first-team all-conference awards and had 86 players sign contracts with NFL teams.
Whittingham was recognized as the National Coach of the Year in 2008 by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and the Paul "Bear" Bryant Awards committee. This season he was the AFCA's Region 5 Coach of the Year.
Utah has also excelled academically under Whittingham. Since he became head coach in 2005, his players have earned four Academic All-America citations and 269 academic all-conference awards. Utah football received public recognition from the NCAA for posting a multi-year Academic Progress Report (APR) in the top 10 percent of all athletic teams in the country from 2014-19, including a perfect single-year APR score of 1000 in 2017-18. The American Football Coaches Association gave Utah a 2017 Academic Achievement Award for recording a perfect 100-percent NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR).
Whittingham has been instrumental in the creation of the Ute Academy – a resource center for current and former student-athletes that prioritizes personal and professional development. He and former Utah head coach Urban Meyer were the first to donate to the Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin Family Scholarship in 2008, which was created to benefit the opportunities of football student-athletes. Whittingham is also a regular in the 'Rivalry for Charity' annual golf tournament that benefits the National Kidney Foundation.
"I would like the thank the Dodd Trophy selection committee and the Chik-Fil-A Peach Bowl for this distinguished award," Whittingham said. "Being named the Dodd Trophy Coach of the Year is a tremendous honor, and is only possible because of the hard work and tremendous effort of the entire University of Utah Football team and staff. Our program strives to embody the three principles defined by Coach Dodd: Scholarship, leadership and integrity. These principles attest to doing things the right way."
Scholarship. Leadership. Integrity.
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) December 27, 2019
No one more deserving of The Dodd Trophy than @UtahCoachWhitt. Congratulations, Coach! pic.twitter.com/RLEtRSvz7e
Whittingham led Utah to an 11-2 record, the Pac-12 South Division title and an appearance in the Valero Alamo Bowl. Eight players earned first-team All-Pac-12 honors, including Offensive Player of the Year Zack Moss. Bradlee Anae was the defensive winner of the Morris Trophy and Anae, Moss, Julian Blackmon, Leki Fotu and Jaylon Johnson all earned All-America honors from one of the five major teams.
In his 15th season as head coach at Utah, Whittingham has an overall record of 131-63. He is the longest-tenured coach in the Pac-12 Conference and the third-longest tenured head coach in FBS. Whittingham is in his 26th season overall at Utah, beginning as the Utes defensive line coach in 1994.
When we congratulated @UtahCoachWhitt on winning @thedoddtrophy, he attributed every bit of credit to the outstanding players, assistant coaches and staff.
— Utah Football (@Utah_Football) December 27, 2019
That's our coach, and we are so proud. pic.twitter.com/u8QtOn0tSc
Utah is 11-2 in bowls games under Whittingham and his .846 bowl winning percentage ranks second all-time in FBS history among coaches who have won at least seven bowl games. His victories include a win in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl as co-coach with Urban Meyer and the 2009 Sugar Bowl after leading Utah to a 13-0 season that year. Utah has made the sixth-most appearances of any school in the College Football Playoff rankings since it began in 2014.
Individually, Whittingham has had 20 players make major All-America teams (those determining the NCAA's consensus team), won 89 first-team all-conference awards and had 86 players sign contracts with NFL teams.
Whittingham was recognized as the National Coach of the Year in 2008 by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) and the Paul "Bear" Bryant Awards committee. This season he was the AFCA's Region 5 Coach of the Year.
Utah has also excelled academically under Whittingham. Since he became head coach in 2005, his players have earned four Academic All-America citations and 269 academic all-conference awards. Utah football received public recognition from the NCAA for posting a multi-year Academic Progress Report (APR) in the top 10 percent of all athletic teams in the country from 2014-19, including a perfect single-year APR score of 1000 in 2017-18. The American Football Coaches Association gave Utah a 2017 Academic Achievement Award for recording a perfect 100-percent NCAA Graduation Success Rate (GSR).
Whittingham has been instrumental in the creation of the Ute Academy – a resource center for current and former student-athletes that prioritizes personal and professional development. He and former Utah head coach Urban Meyer were the first to donate to the Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin Family Scholarship in 2008, which was created to benefit the opportunities of football student-athletes. Whittingham is also a regular in the 'Rivalry for Charity' annual golf tournament that benefits the National Kidney Foundation.
.@UtahCoachWhitt is our #DoddTrophy Coach of the year!#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/JkUbs7FFZ6
— The Dodd Trophy (@thedoddtrophy) December 27, 2019
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