Home Hugh Freeze named Semifinalist for George Munger Coach of the Year Award
Sports

Hugh Freeze named Semifinalist for George Munger Coach of the Year Award

AFP
hugh freeze
Hugh Freeze. Photo courtesy Liberty Athletics.

Liberty coach Hugh Freeze was one of 12 semifinalists named for the 2020 George Munger Collegiate Coach of the Year Award.

Freeze had led Liberty to a season of firsts, including the first-ever national ranking, first win over an ACC opponent and the best start in school history (8-0 to start 2020).

Under Freeze’s leadership, Liberty defeated a pair of ACC foes in Syracuse and in-state opponent Virginia Tech en route to a 9-1 regular season record. The two wins makes Liberty the first non-Power 5 team to post a pair of wins over Power 5 schools in the same season since Houston in 2015.

Liberty has been ranked in the top 25 national polls seven out of the last eight weeks and is currently ranked No. 23 in both the Associated Press and Amway Coaches Poll.

The George Munger College Coach of the Year Award, which honors to the best head coach in college football, is presented yearly by the Maxwell Football Club.

The award is named after former University of Pennsylvania coach George Munger. His devotion to ethics in athletics, and his commitment to education is the standard for which all college coaches should strive.

The George Munger Award was founded in 1989.

The list includes a field of 12 candidates for the award who have been selected by the MFC National Selection Committee.

Semifinalist voting for the Maxwell Football Club Collegiate Coach of the Year award will begin on Thursday Dec. 24 and close on Sunday, Jan. 2.

The finalist round will include the top three coaches as selected in the semifinalist round. Finalist voting will open Jan. 3 and run until Jan. 12. The winner will be announced Jan. 15.

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.

2020 George Munger Collegiate Coach of the Year Semifinalists

  • Tom Allen, Indiana
  • Brent Brennan, San Jose State
  • Matt Campbell, Iowa State
  • Jamey Chadwell, Coastal Carolina
  • Ryan Day, Ohio State
  • Luke Fickell, Cincinnati
  • Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M
  • Hugh Freeze, Liberty
  • Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
  • Nick Saban, Alabama
  • Kalani Sitake, BYU
  • Dabo Swinney, Clemson




Multimedia

 

AFP

AFP

Have a guest column, letter to the editor, story idea or a news tip? Email editor Chris Graham at [email protected]. Subscribe to AFP podcasts on Apple PodcastsSpotifyPandora and YouTube.

Latest News

baseball
Etc.

JMU Baseball: Dukes welcome new pitching coach, Christian Bourne 

uva football entrance
Football, Go 'Hoos

UVA Football: The 2026 Virginia roster is the most experienced in the country

Fun factoid from a recent ESPN column: the UVA Football roster will be the most experienced in the country this season.

darden towe park
Local

Albemarle County: Darden Towe Park closed due to damage from storms

Albemarle County Parks & Recreation announced on Saturday that Darden Towe Park will need to be closed “for the immediate future” due to damage from the line of dangerous storms that rolled through the area on Friday.

police car arrest lights
Region/State

Five shot, one critically wounded, in mass shooting at Virginia State University

fire department fire truck accident emergency
Local

Lightning strike causes residential structure fire in Albemarle County

augusta county sheriff accident police crash
Local

Augusta County: $50,000 reward offered for information in 2025 coin theft

road closed
Local

Rockingham County: Route 704 bridge over I-81 to close for repairs