SALT LAKE CITY Kyle Whittingham added some hardware to his trophy case Friday, as the longtime Utah head coach was named the 2019 Dodd Trophy Coach of the Year winner.

The award is annually given to the head college football coach whose program embodies the awards three pillars of scholarship, leadership and integrity, while also having success on the playing field throughout the season.

Whittingham, who has an overall record of 131-63 in 15 years as the Utes head coach, led Utah to an 11-2 record and the Pac-12 South title in 2019. The Utes play Texas in the Alamo Bowl next Tuesday.

Other 2019 Dodd Trophy finalists included Minnesotas P.J. Fleck, LSUs Ed Orgeron, Baylors Matt Rhule and Clemsons Dabo Swinney.

Whittingham was named the American Football Coaches Associations Region 5 Coach of the Year earlier this season. He also was recognized by the AFCA and the Paul Bear Bryant Awards committee as National Coach of the Year in 2008, when Whittingham led his Utes to a 13-0 record, No. 2 Associated Press national finish and a Sugar Bowl win over Alabama.

On-the-field success only tells half the story for the Dodd Trophy winner, though.

Under Whittinghams tutelage, four Utes have earned Academic All-America citations and 269 academic all-conference awards since he took over as coach in 2005. The NCAA also recognized the Utah program for having multi-year Academic Progress Report ratings in the top 10 percent of all athletic teams in the country from 2014-19, including a perfect APR single-year score of 1,000 in 2017-18.

Whittingham has also played a key role in helping current and former student-athletes with the creation of the Ute Academy, which prioritizes personal and professional development.

This is the second time a Utah-based coach has won the Dodd Trophy. Former BYU head coach LaVell Edwards won the award in 1979 in its fourth year of existence.

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Utah Utes football: Kyle Whittingham wins Dodd Trophy Coach of the Year award - Deseret News