The American Heart Association (AHA) Paul "Bear" Bryant Awards are an annual awards banquet that is hosted each year in January, in Houston, Texas, by the AHA.For a list of American Heart Association offices, by state, go to: There are two awards. One of them—the Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year Award—has been given annually since 1986 to NCAA college football's national coach of the year. The Award was named in honor of longtime Alabama coach Bear Bryant after he died of a heart attack in 1983, just four weeks after he retired as the Alabama Crimson Tide coach. The award is voted on by the National Sports Media Association (formerly the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association) and proceeds from the awards ceremony benefit the Houston chapter of the American Heart Association, which is the organizing sponsor—since 1986, at the request of the Bryant family—and which obtains a "presenting sponsor" (currently Marathon Oil Corporation).Bear Bryant Awards. National Sports Media Association website. Retrieved 2017-04-06. The College Football Coach of the Year Award began in 1957 and was renamed for Bryant in 1986. Bryant himself won the AFCA Coach of the Year award in 1961, 1971, and 1973.
According to the official website: The Paul Bear Bryant College Football Coaching Awards is an exclusive event that honors a college football coach whose great accomplishments, both on and off the field, are legendary. The award recognizes the masters of coaching and allows them to take their deserved place in history beside other legends like Bear Bryant.
Unlike many college football head coaching awards, it is presented after each season's bowl games.
In 2000, the AHA began presenting a second award, the Paul "Bear" Bryant Lifetime Achievement Award. A third award, the Paul "Bear" Bryant Newcomer Coach of the Year Award, was added in 2023, honoring the top coach in his first season as a head coach in Division I FBS.
Winners Note: The year indicates the season for which the award was presented. The award is presented in January of the following year. Year Winner School 1986 Penn State 1987 Syracuse 1988 Notre Dame 1989 Colorado 1990 Georgia Tech 1991 Washington 1992 Alabama 1993 Auburn 1994 Oregon 1995 Northwestern 1996 Arizona State 1997 Michigan 1998 Kansas State 1999 Virginia Tech 2000 Oklahoma 2001 Miami (FL) 2002 Ohio State 2003 LSU 2004 Auburn 2005 Texas 2006 Boise State 2007 Kansas 2008 Utah 2009 (2) Boise State 2010 Auburn 2011 Oklahoma State 2012 Penn State 2013 Auburn 2014 TCU 2015 Clemson 2016 (2) Clemson 2017 UCF 2018 (3) Clemson 2019 LSU 2020 (2) Alabama 2021 Cincinnati 2022 TCU 2023 Florida State 2024 Notre Dame 2025 Indiana
Lifetime Achievement Award winners See footnote.
2000 – Darrell Royal 2001 – Charles McClendon 2002 – Bill Yeoman 2003 – Frank Broyles 2004 – Gene Stallings 2005 – Lou Holtz 2006 – Jack Pardee 2007 – Bo Schembechler 2008 – Tom Osborne 2009 – Barry Switzer 2010 – Vince Dooley 2011 – Bobby Bowden 2012 – Hayden Fry 2013 – LaVell Edwards 2014 – R. C. Slocum 2015 – Jimmy Johnson 2016 – Mack Brown 2017 – Barry Alvarez 2018 – Steve Spurrier 2019 – Frank Beamer 2020 – Bill Snyder 2021 – Howard Schnellenberger 2022 - John Robinson 2023 - Lloyd Carr 2024 - Grant Teaff
Newcomer Coach of the Year Award winners Note: While the Newcomer Award is presented in January of the calendar year following the award season, it is announced in December. Year Winner School 2023 Northwestern 2024 Syracuse 2025 Kennesaw State
See also AFCA Coach of the Year Associated Press College Football Coach of the Year Award Walter Camp Coach of the Year Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award Sporting News College Football Coach of the Year
References
External links Paul "Bear" Bryant College Football Coaching Awards