Per GoBearcats:
Cincinnati football head coach Luke Fickell collected the American Heart Association’s Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year award on Wednesday night at a gala event that was broadcast live on Bally Sports Southwest.
The Bryant Coach of the Year award is voted on by the National Sports Media Association, current NCAA College football coaches, former Coach of the Year Award winners, the Bryant Awards’ Executive Leadership Team and the Bryant family.
The honor marks the seventh National Coach of the Year award won by Fickell this season, joining:
- The Werner Ladder AFCA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) National Coach of the Year
- Eddie Robinson Award presented by the FWAA
- The Dodd Trophy
- The Home Depot National Coach of the Year
- Walter Camp Foundation Coach of the Year
- Sporting News National Coach of the Year
This fall, Fickell led Cincinnati to a 13-1 record, an appearance in the College Football Playoff Semifinals at the 86th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, a second consecutive American Athletic Conference championship and the first-ever 13-win season in UC history.
Heading into bowl season, Cincinnati was one of only two teams in the nation that ranked in the Top 10 in scoring offense (8th – 39.2) and scoring defense (4th – 16.1).
UC had an incredible 12 All-AAC First Team selections led by two-time league Offensive Player of the Year quarterback Desmond Ridder and unanimous Defensive Player of the Year Ahmad “Sauce” Gardner. Ridder finished with 44 career victories – the third-most in college football history.
Gardner became Cincinnati’s third consensus All-American all-time and first position player, while senior Coby Bryant was named the Jim Thorpe Award winner as the nation’s top defensive back.
Fickell led UC to back-to-back 11-win seasons in 2018 and 2019, and a 9-1 overall record in the condensed 2020 season, including an appearance in the 2021 Peach Bowl.
He is a three-time AAC Coach of the Year, winning the conference honors in 2021, 2020 and 2018.
