PROVO -- In his second season as the head football coach at Brigham Young University, Bronco Mendenhall has been selected as one of nine finalists for the prestigious Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA).
After leading No. 20 BYU to a second-place finish in the Mountain West Conference during his first season at the helm, Mendenhall (40) led the Cougars to their first Conference Championship since the 2001 season with a perfect 8-0 record in 2006. Under Mendenhall, BYU finished the regular season with a 10-2 record, including a streak of nine straight victories to end the regular season. The Cougars' current win streak is the third longest in the country behind Boise State and Ohio State.
The Cougars will also represent the MWC in the Pioneer PureVision Las Vegas Bowl for the second straight year, marking the first time a BYU has made a post-season bowl appearance in back-to-back seasons since the 1998-99 seasons.
The 2006 season marks the 12th time in BYU football history that the Cougars have produced 10 wins in a season.
Under Mendenhall's direction, the Cougars lead the MWC and rank fourth in the nation in passing offense, averaging 319.3 yards per game. The Cougars also lead the league and rank fifth in the country in total offense, producing an average 458.6 yards per contest. BYU also leads the Mountain West and rank sixth nationally in scoring offense, averaging 36.7 points per game.
Defensively, the Cougars rank fourth nationally and lead the league in turnover margin, averaging 1.17 turnovers per game. BYU has also made tremendous strides defensively, ranking 19th in the nation in pass efficiency defense (107.84) and 15th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 15.3 points per game.
BYU has outscored its opponents this season by an average 36.7 to 15.3. More impressively, the Cougars posted 138 first-quarter points and held opponents to just 15 points in the opening quarter of play throughout the season.
Mendenhall came to BYU in 2003 as the defensive coordinator. He was promoted to head coach following the 2004 season. Previously, Mendenhall has made coaching stops at New Mexico, Louisiana Tech, Oregon State, Northern Arizona and Snow College.
The FWAA coaching award is named after Robinson, a coaching legend at Grambling State University for 55 years. He has more Division I victories (408) than any other coach. The winner of the FWAA/Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award will be announced and honored at a reception on Jan. 5 in Glendale, Ariz., in conjunction with the BCS 1-2 game.
The Football Writers Association of America, a non- profit organization founded in 1941, consists of more than 900 men and women across North America who cover college football for a living. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game day operations, major awards, a national poll and its annual All-America team.