• Sports Network Release
PHILADELPHIA - First-year Eastern Illinois head football coach
Dino Babers was third in voting for the Eddie Robinson FCS Coach of the Year Award presented by the Sports Network. The winner, Craig Bohl of North Dakota State, was announced at the FCS Awards Banquet on Monday evening.
Out of 145 total ballots cast, Babers received 14 first-place votes, 21 second-place votes, 14 third-place votes, 13 fourth-place votes and seven fifth place votes to tally 229 points. It is the highest finish for an OVC coach since Southeast Missouri's Tony Samuel won the award in 2010. Samuel and former Murray State head coach Houston Nutt (1995) are the only OVC coaches to win the award.
UT Martin head coach
Jason Simpson was also one of 20 finalists for the award and finished 17th in the balloting. Simpson, who guided the Skyhawks to an 8-3 overall record, received one first-place vote, two third-place votes, two fourth-place votes and eight fifth-place votes to finish with 23 points.
Babers was the Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year in his inaugural season as the Panthers head coach leading EIU to a 7-5 overall record and OVC regular season championship. EIU advanced to its 14th FCS playoff appearance losing in the opening round to South Dakota State.
Babers took over the program in December 2011 replacing long time head coach Bob Spoo. Babers had been on Spoo's first staff at EIU in 1987 before coaching at several other programs. He became the fourth coach in OVC history to win a league championship in his first season as a collegiate head coach. He also became the fourth coach to take a program that had finished last in the OVC standings the previous season to league champions the next.
Babers was named the AFCA Region Coach of the Year and is a finalist for the AFCA Coach of the Year award which will be presented in early January at the football coaches convention.
Under Babers high powered offensive attack the Panthers ranked among the nation's top ten programs in scoring offense, passing offense and total offense in 2012. EIU featured two players who were finalists for the Walter Payton Award as junior wide receiver Erik Lora was fourth in final voting and junior quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was 10th.
|
2012 Eddie Robinson Award Voting |
|
Name |
School |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
Total |
|
1. Craig Bohl |
North Dakota St |
42 |
22 |
13 |
8 |
11 |
364 |
|
2. Andy Talley |
Villanova |
22 |
17 |
20 |
17 |
8 |
280 |
|
3. Dino Babers |
Eastern Illinois |
14 |
21 |
14 |
13 |
7 |
229 |
|
4. Tim Walsh |
Cal Poly |
6 |
13 |
10 |
15 |
11 |
153 |
|
5. Beau Baldwin |
Eastern Washington |
7 |
11 |
13 |
11 |
7 |
147 |
|
6. Danny Rocco |
Richmond |
5 |
14 |
10 |
9 |
10 |
139 |
|
7. Chuck Priore |
Stony Brook |
6 |
8 |
14 |
10 |
10 |
134 |
|
8. Clint Conque |
Central Arkansas |
11 |
4 |
6 |
7 |
11 |
114 |
|
9. Walt Hameline |
Wagner |
8 |
6 |
4 |
9 |
8 |
102 |
|
10. Kevin Higgins |
The Citadel |
4 |
6 |
8 |
9 |
9 |
95 |
|
11. Monte Coleman |
Arkansas-PB |
8 |
2 |
9 |
1 |
4 |
81 |
|
12. Brian Jenkins |
Bethune-Cookman |
3 |
8 |
3 |
5 |
10 |
76 |
|
13. Dick Biddle |
Colgate |
5 |
4 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
61 |
|
14. Brock Spack |
Illinois St |
0 |
4 |
7 |
9 |
5 |
60 |
|
15. Joe Moglia |
Coastal Carolina |
3 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
9 |
43 |
|
16. Joe Moorhead |
Fordham |
0 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
31 |
|
17. Jason Simpson |
UT Martin |
1 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
8 |
23 |
|
18. Karl Morgan |
Miss Valley St |
0 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
22 |
|
19. Jeff Voris |
Butler |
0 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
12 |
|
20. Bob Surace |
Princeton |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
9 |