CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Now in its fourth year of heralding college football coaches who demonstrate sportsmanship, integrity and responsibility on and off the field, Liberty Mutual Insurance today named Coe College Head Football Coach Steve Staker one of five Division III finalists for the 2009 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award.

If he wins, Liberty Mutual will award Coach Staker $50,000 to donate to the charity of his choice and a $20,000 grant to donate to the Coe College alumni association for student scholarships and activities. Winners will be announced January 6, 2010, in Los Angeles, in advance of the BCS Championship Game.

 

Past winners, including Alabama's Nick Saban (2008), Northern Illinois' Jerry Kill (2007) and last year's Division III winner Larry Kehres of Mt. Union College, have used their Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award money to help build homes in local communities, support children in need and even fight terminal diseases. Including the 2009 winners, Liberty Mutual will have donated nearly $1 million to support dozens of national and local charities and college scholarship funds on behalf of its Coach of the Year Award winners.

 

"Many passionate fans came out to vote for Steve Staker because he embodies the college football spirit and the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year values," said Greg Gordon, senior vice president of Consumer Marketing at Liberty Mutual. "Staker has made a great impact on the lives of his student athletes and his community and we are proud to recognize him as a Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year finalist."

 

After finishing 4-6 in his first season as head coach, the Kohawks went 10-2 in 2009, while advancing to the second round of the NCAA Division III Football Playoffs.  It was just the third time in program history that a team has recorded 10 wins, including a 34-27 win over fourth-ranked St. John's in the first round of the NCAA Playoffs.

 

Staker has already been named the Iowa Conference Coach of the Year and American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Region Five Coach of the Year for his team's accomplishments this season. He is one of five finalists for the AFCA National Coach of the Year award.

 

Joining Staker among the five Division III finalists are, in alphabetical order: Steve Briggs, Susquehanna University; Greg Debeljak, Case Western Reserve University; John Gagliardi, Saint John's University and John Troxell, Franklin & Marshall College.

 

Between December 15 and December 29 fans can visit www.CoachoftheYear.com to vote among the finalists. Fan votes constitute 20 percent of a coach's final score.

 

To ensure candidates are evaluated fairly and measured against the specific values of responsibility and integrity, selection committees of College Football Hall of Fame players and coaches - including Archie Manning, Lou Holtz, Vince Dooley, Ronnie Lott, and Jerry Rice - and the national college football media will also cast votes for the winners. Hall of Fame and media votes account for 55 percent and 25 percent, respectively.

 

Launched in 2006, Liberty Mutual created the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award to celebrate responsible coaching because it is one of the clearest examples of a positive influence on young people, their families and entire communities. Past winners include 2006 - Greg Schiano (Rutgers); 2007 - Ron Zook (Illinois), Jerry Kill (Southern Illinois), Bill O'Boyle (Chadron State), John Gagliardi (Saint John's); 2008 - Nick Saban (Alabama), Mickey Matthews (James Madison), Chuck Broyles (Pittsburg State), Larry Kehres (Mount Union).

 

About Liberty Mutual Group

"Helping people live safer, more secure lives" since 1912, Boston-based Liberty Mutual Group (Libertymutualgroup.com) is a diversified global insurer and fifth-largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2008 direct written premium. Liberty Mutual Group ranks 86th on the Fortune 500 list of largest U.S. corporations, based on 2008 revenue. The company has over 45,000 employees located in more than 900 offices throughout the world.

 

The eighth-largest auto and home insurer in the U.S., Liberty Mutual (libertymutual.com) sells full lines of coverage for automobile, homeowners, valuable possessions, personal liability, and individual life insurance. The company is an industry leader in affinity partnerships, offering car and home insurance to employees and members of more than 12,000 companies, credit unions, professional associations and alumni groups.

 

About the National Football Foundation & the College Football Hall of Fame

Founded in 1947 with leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl "Red" Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, The National Football Foundation & College Football Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. With 121 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., the NFF Hampshire Honor Society, Play It Smart, the NFF-FWAA Football Forum, the NFF Gridiron Club of New York City, and scholarships of over $1 million for college and high school scholar-athletes. The NFF presents the MacArthur Trophy, the Draddy Trophy, presented by HealthSouth, and releases the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings. Learn more at www.footballfoundation.orgor www.collegefootball.org.