Army Black Knights’ Jeff Monken Semifinalist for Munger Coach of Year Award

The Army West Point Black Knights head coach is up for another of the college game’s most prestigious awards.

Nov 23, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Army Black Knights head coach Jeff Monken speaks to an official during the second half against the Army Black Knights at Yankee Stadium. / Danny Wild-Imagn Images

Army West Point Black Knights head football coach Jeff Monken is a semifinalist for the George Munger Coach of the Year award, the committee announced on Wednesday.

This is just the latest award that Monken has either won or has been nominated for this season. The Munger Award is presented to the NCAA Division I college football coach of the year by the Maxwell Football Club.

Earlier this week, he was named a finalist for the Bobby Dodd Award, which is also to the nation’s coach of the year. The Dodd award is presented by the Peach Bowl.

Last week, he was awarded the first Buddy Teevens award, which is given for coaching innovation and is named after the former Dartmouth, Stanford and Tulane football coach. That award is presented by the Manning Family.

And, for his efforts with Army this season, Monken was named the American Athletic Conference coach of the year during the Black Knights’ first season in the conference.

Monken is preparing his Black Knights for the Independence Bowl, which will be held on Dec. 28 at 9:15 p.m. eastern in Shreveport, La., against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.

Before he arrived, the Black Knights were stuck in a 17-year slump. With Monken, Army has gone 81-57 under his watch. That includes a winning record over Navy.

Even with the Black Knights’ 31-13 loss to Navy on Saturday, this has been a historic season for Army (11-2) and it can still win 12 games for the first time in program history with a win over the Bulldogs.

Monken has already guided the Black Knights to just their fourth season or 10 or more wins in school history, three of which have come under his watch. Army won its first conference title in school history earlier this month, as the Black Knights won the American Athletic Conference championship game.

The Black Knights were also in those final rankings, the first time they've been included in the CFP Top 25 in school history.

Army also been ranked in the AP Top 25 every week since mid-October. It ended the regular season at No. 19. Army hasn't been ranked that many weeks in a row in the AP Top 25 since 1958.