South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer up for national coaching honor

On Tuesday, South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer was named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson National Coach of the Year. Beamer joined Curt Cignetti (Indiana Hoosiers), Marcus Freeman (Notre Dame Fighting Irish), Kirby Smart (Georgia Bulldogs), Jeff Monken (Army Black Knights), Kenny Dillingham (Arizona State Sun Devils), Spencer Danielson (Boise State Broncos), Dan Lanning (Oregon Ducks), and Rhett Lashlee (SMU Mustangs) as one of nine finalists for the award. Beamer and Monken are the only two coaches on the list not in the College Football Playoff.

This season, Beamer led the Gamecocks to a 9-3 regular season record. With a win in the Citrus Bowl over Illinois, South Carolina will reach the 10-win threshold for just the fifth time in program history.

Beamer also has the Gamecocks positioned for the future. Currently ranked 19th by On3, the Gamecocks are poised to have their third consecutive top-20 recruiting class in the 2025 cycle.

The Football Writers Association of America will announce the 2024 Eddie Robinson Award recipient later this month.

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From the South Carolina Athletics press release:

University of South Carolina head football coach Shane Beamer is one of nine coaches selected as finalists for the 2024 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award, the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) in conjunction with the Allstate Sugar Bowl announced today.

The finalists in alphabetical order are: Shane Beamer, South Carolina; Curt Cignetti, Indiana; Spencer Danielson, Boise State; Kenny Dillingham, Arizona State; Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame; Dan Lanning, Oregon; Rhett Lashlee, SMU; Jeff Monken, Army; and Kirby Smart, Georgia.

Wrapping up his fourth season leading the South Carolina Football program, Coach Beamer is enjoying his most successful season to date.

Beamer’s 2024 squad posted nine regular season wins, something that has been done just five times in school history. The Gamecocks recorded a school-record four wins against ranked opponents, including three in consecutive weeks as part of a season-ending six-game winning streak. He was the Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Week following the Gamecocks’ upset win over Texas A&M and earned SEC Coach of the Year accolades. The Gamecocks will finish the season with their highest ranking since 2013.

Beamer, who owns a 29-21 record, has won more games through his first four seasons at Carolina than any other coach, one more than Steve Spurrier, the school’s all-time winningest coach. Beamer is South Carolina’s first Eddie Robinson Award finalist.

The finalists have been placed on a ballot which has been sent to the entire FWAA membership. The award honors regular season performance, including conference championship games. The 2024 recipient will be announced on Wed., Dec. 18. The official presentation will be at a reception Sat., Jan. 18, 2025, in Atlanta, the site of the College Football Playoff National Championship.

“Our nine Coach of the Year finalists represent everything that has defined college football in 2024: From surprise success stories like Curt Cignetti, Jeff Monken, Kenny Dillingham, and Rhett Lashlee to the resurgence of South Carolina under Shane Beamer and Boise State under Spencer Danielson, to the programs with sustained excellence under Kirby Smart, Marcus Freeman and Dan Lanning,” FWAA president Andrea Adelson said. “Each coach has demonstrated an exceptional ability to get the most out of his players, and we look forward to the winner carrying on the legacy set forth by the legendary Eddie Robinson.”

“The FWAA and the Eddie Robinson family believe this is an outstanding group of finalists with a mixture of conference champions and inspiring breakthrough seasons for some teams,” said Eddie Robinson III, Coach Robinson’s grandson, along with FWAA Executive Director Steve Richardson. “The outstanding coaching jobs done by several rising coaches gives us as much depth to this field as we have ever had. The FWAA membership will have an interesting time picking a winner.”

“The Allstate Sugar Bowl is proud to work with the FWAA as the title sponsor of the annual Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award,” said Sugar Bowl Committee President Walter Becker. “Not only do we get to recognize coaching excellence on the football field from around the country, but we also get to honor the legacy of Louisiana’s own Coach Eddie Robinson. We are looking forward to hosting this year’s Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year event next month in Atlanta.”

Beamer will lead the 15th Gamecocks (9-3, 5-3 SEC) to the 79th Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on Dec. 31 to face the No. 20 Illinois Fighting Illini (9-3, 6-3 Big Ten). Game time is set for 3 pm and the contest will be televised nationally on ABC.

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