Tom Allen Named Finalist for Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year Award

Tom Allen is one of eight finalists for the award, and Allen is also one of nine finalists for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana head coach Tom Allen continues to be recognized for the job he's done this season with the Hoosiers.

It was announced Tuesday morning that Allen is one of eight finalists for the Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year award.

This comes one day after Allen was named one of nine finalists for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award. Last week, Allen was already named Big Ten Coach of the Year.

"It's a team award," Allen said on FOX's Big Noon Kickoff last Saturday. "It's our staff, it's our players that believed we could do it."

The other eight finalists include Matt Campbell (Iowa State), Jamey Chadwell (Coastal Carolina), Mario Cristobal (Oregon), Jimbo Fisher (Texas A&M), Brian Kelly (Notre Dame), Nick Saban (Alabama) and Dabo Swinney (Clemson).

Below is the full press released from Indiana football:

A day after being named one of nine finalists for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award, Tom Allen is one of eight finalists for the Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year Award, it was announced on Tuesday morning.

The Paul "Bear" Bryant Award annually recognizes the country's top college football coaches for their contributions both on and off the field, making the sport better for athletes and fans alike by demonstrating grit, integrity and a winning approach to coaching and life. The award is the only college coaching honor selected after all postseason bowl games and the National Championship have been played.

In addition to the Coach of the Year, and new in 2020, the Paul "Bear" Bryant Awards program is also presenting Conference Coaches of the Year Awards.

Football coaching legend, Paul "Bear" Bryant, died from a heart attack in 1983. Moved to drive education around heart disease after his passing, the Bryant family teamed with the American Heart Association in 1986 building on the Association's Coach of the Year Award to create the Paul "Bear" Bryant Awards program. Each year since then, the awards honor "Bear's" legacy by recognizing coaching excellence while raising critical funds for research to eradicate cardiovascular disease through event sponsorships, an auction and individual charitable donations.

The 2020 Coach of the Year finalists are (in alphabetical order):

• Big 10 - Tom Allen - Indiana University
• Big XII - Matt Campbell - Iowa State University
• Group of 5 - Jamey Chadwell - Coastal Carolina University, Sun Belt Conference
• Pac 12 - Mario Cristobal – University of Oregon
• SEC - Jimbo Fisher - Texas A&M University
• ACC - Brian Kelly – University of Notre Dame
• SEC - Nick Saban – University of Alabama
• ACC - Dabo Swinney – Clemson University

The 2020 Conference Coaches of the Year awardees are (in alphabetical order):

• Big 10 - Tom Allen - Indiana University
• Big XII - Matt Campbell - Iowa State University
• Group of 5 - Jamey Chadwell - Coastal Carolina University, Sun Belt Conference
• Pac 12 - Mario Cristobal – University of Oregon
• ACC - Brian Kelly – University of Notre Dame
• SEC - Nick Saban – University of Alabama 

The Coach of the Year will be announced live on Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2021, during a virtual awards ceremony with proceeds benefiting the American Heart Association, the world's leading voluntary health organization devoted to a world of longer, healthier lives. The awards will be televised later nationwide on FOX Sports family of networks. The Conference Coaches of the Year awards and national Coach of the Year award are voted on by the National Sports Media Association, along with current NCAA College football coaches, former Coach of the Year Award winners and the Bryant Family.

Allen was named the Big Ten's Hayes-Schembechler Coach of the Year (coaches vote) and Dave McClain Coach of the Year (media vote) last week. He was also recognized as the American Football Coaches Association Region 3 Coach of the Year, and he is a candidate for the Dodd Trophy and the Paul "Bear" Bryant Awards.

The Hoosiers are ranked No. 7 in the country with a 6-1 record and will face Ole Miss in the 35th Outback Bowl on Saturday, Jan. 2.

Below are some of the program's notable 2020 achievements:

•Indiana is playing in consecutive January bowls for the first time in school history.
•IU is ranked for a program record ninth-consecutive week, coming in at No. 7 in the Associated Press Top 25 and at No. 8 in the Amway Coaches Poll presented by USA Today Sports.
•The Hoosiers have been ranked in the Top 10 six times in 2020, the second-most in school history (9 weeks in 1945).
•Indiana collected its first Top-10 ranking in the Nov. 8 AP Poll (No. 10) since Sept. 22, 1969 (No. 10).
•IU's No. 7 rating is its best in the AP Poll since Nov. 27, 1967 (No. 4).
•The Hoosiers three Top-25 victories are tied for the second-most in the country behind Alabama's four.
•Their three Top-25 wins also matched the 1945 team's program record.
•Indiana's 6-1 record is its best overall start since 1993 (7-1).
•IU is 14-6 overall and 11-5 in league play since the beginning of the 2019 campaign. Its 14 victories share fourth and its 11 Big Ten wins share third among all B1G teams during that span.
•With their victory over Maryland, the Hoosiers clinched a winning league record in consecutive seasons for the first time since 1987-88 and for the sixth time overall (1967-68, 1944-46 and 1936-37).
•Indiana's six conference wins are tied for the most in school history (1967, 1987).
•IU's 11 Big Ten victories are tied for the most in program history over a two-year span (1987-88).
•The Hoosiers collected their first win over No. 16 Wisconsin (14-6) since defeating the Badgers in back-to-back seasons on Oct. 6, 2001 (63-32) and on Oct. 12, 2002 (32-29), the former coming at Camp Randall Stadium.
•Indiana recorded its first road victory over a ranked opponent since No. 18 Missouri on Sept. 20, 2014 (31-27), and its first B1G road win over a ranked opponent since No. 22 Michigan State on Nov. 10, 2001 (37-28).
•Wisconsin's six points marked its lowest total against IU since Oct. 24, 1992 (3), and it was U-W's first game without a touchdown since Oct. 3, 2015, against Iowa.
•The Hoosiers matched a school record with five-straight league victories (1967) before losing at No. 3 Ohio State and have won 11 of their last 14, their most successful stretch in conference games in program history.
•Indiana defeated Michigan State, 24-0, to reclaim the Old Brass Spittoon for the first time since 2016 and earn its first win in East Lansing since 2001.
•IU's 38-21 victory over No. 23 Michigan was its first over the Wolverines since Oct. 24, 1987 (14-10).
•The Hoosiers 36-35, overtime win against No. 8 Penn State in the season opener was the sixth against a Top-10 opponent in school history, with the last coming at No. 9 Ohio State (31-10) on Oct. 10, 1987.
•It marked Indiana's first Top-10 victory at Memorial Stadium since Nov. 25, 1967 (No. 3 Purdue, 19-14).
•IU has defeated PSU, U-M, MSU and UW in the same season for the first time in program history and beaten the Wolverines and Spartans in the same year for the first time since 1967.