By:Â B.J. Bethel
CINCINNATI — University of Cincinnati football coach Luke Fickell was named National Coach of the Year on Tuesday.
Fickell’s win was announced by the UC athletic department in a press release.
UC became the first Group of Five conference team to make the College Football Playoff, finishing fourth in the final rankings by the College Football Playoff Committee. The Bearcats play No. 1 Alabama on Dec. 31 at the Cotton Bowl in the CFP Semifinal.
Fickell is the second UC coach to win National Coach of the Year after former coach Brian Kelly won the award in 2009.
The Bearcats finished the year beating Houston to win its third straight American Athletic Conference championship. The win gave UC a 13-0 record in the regular season. The Bearcats were the only unbeaten team in the country and the only team to finish in the top 10 in scoring offense (eight with 39.2 points per game) and scoring defense (fourth allowing 16.1 points per game).
Fickell has been named AAC Coach of the Year three times – in 2018, 2020 and 2021.
Reposted with permission from WCPO 9 Cincinnati