2009 College Football Preview: Can Georgia's Mark Richt Be Coach of the Year?

This is a time of year that brings hard hitting fun and excitement. Regardless of my own team's success or failure, I absolutely treasure the college football season. With all the tradition, enthusiasm, and pageantry, it is no doubt that college football is one of the greatest sports in the American culture. While the game itself takes center stage each and every week during the college football season, there are countless off the field areas associated with college football. One such dynamic is the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award.

In order to be considered for the annual coach of the year award, you must be an active member of a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) school. Winners are selected first by division using a combination of fan votes received from a selection committee. To become a finalist, a selected coach must not have had major program violations for the year as determined by the NCAA. The selection committee also examines and makes sure there are no integrity violations of the coach or his assistant coaches for the year. The winner of the award is recognized based on sportsmanship and integrity, academic excellence, and community commitment.

My coach of the year, assuming that he has a winning season, is Coach Mark Richt of the University of Georgia Bulldogs. Based on MarkRicht.com, Coach Mark Richt is one of only nine head coaches in Division I-A history to record 60 or more wins in his first six seasons and 70 or more wins in his first seven seasons. Richt is one of only six coaches in history to win two southeastern conference championships in 2002 and 2005 in his first five years. Over forty of his players have reached the National Football League and in the spring 2009 draft Georgia had the number one player selected. Although Richt will have to do more with the loss of several talented players, he will still rise to the challenge in 2009. He will certainly have a winning season as he has had in all his years as head coach.

With the exception of an unusual celebration display in the 2007 Georgia vs. Florida game, Coach Richt has always displayed the ultimate in sportsmanship and has always demonstrated the highest integrity. In 2009, I sincerely believe that the Georgia Bulldogs and Coach Richt will incur fewer penalties than they did during the 2008 college football season. Through Richt's leadership, the team should be more disciplined on and off the field.

During his tenure at the University of Georgia, Academic All American players have continued to increase. Likewise, more football student-athletes have graduated. Coach Richt is a strong advocate of academic achievement and he thoroughly supports scholarly endeavors.

One of my most admirable qualities of Coach Mark Richt is his commitment to service. Coach Richt not only does public service announcements but actively supports Habitat for Humanity by building houses. Richt can be seen each year leading his players as they take part in constructing homes for needy individuals.

Coach Mark Richt exemplifies strong characteristics of sportsmanship, integrity, academic excellence, and community excellence. Therefore, he definitely has my vote as coach of the year.