Ryan Day named to preseason watch list for Dodd Trophy
COLUMBUS — Let the preseason award watch list releases officially begin. Ohio State head coach Ryan Day is kicking things off for the Buckeyes this preseason by being included on the watch list for the Dodd Trophy, given annually to the top coach in college football — with a focus on academics.
The Dodd Trophy is ‘managed by Peach Bowl, Inc. and presented by PNC Bank. The Dodd Trophy, college football’s most coveted national coaching award, celebrates the head coach of a team who enjoys success on the gridiron, while also stressing the importance of scholarship, leadership and integrity – the three pillars of legendary coach Bobby Dodd’s coaching philosophy,’ according to a release from the Dodd Trophy.
Day is one of 21 coaches on the preseason watch list for the Dodd Trophy. The list will be trimmed at midseason, and the winner will be announced the week leading into the Peach Bowl, which is a quarterfinal for the College Football Playoff’s new 12-team format.
The watch list was created through a selection process by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Peach Bowl, Inc. taking into consideration each program’s Academic Progress Rate (APR), Graduation Success Rate (GSR), commitment to service and charity in the community, as well as projected success for the 2024 season.
Dodd Trophy Watch List press release
Other Big Ten coaches joining Day on the list are Penn State’s James Franklin, USC head coach Lincoln Riley and Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz.
Day was on the watch list last year and made the cut on the midseason watch list. He was not a finalist when the list was trimmed in December. Florida State’s Mike Norvell won the award last year.
Only one Ohio State coach has ever won the award; Jim Tressel won it in 2002 when the Buckeyes went on to win the national title. Urban Meyer did not win the award in 2014 when the Buckeyes won the title. Nick Saban of Alabama won it before the Crimson Tide were beaten by Ohio State in the CFP semifinal.
