Boise State's Chris Petersen Becomes First Repeat Winner of the Paul 'Bear' Bryant Coach of the Year Award

HOUSTON, Jan. 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Chris Petersen, head coach of Boise State University, was named the 2009 Marathon Oil Corporation Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year, marking the first time in event history that a coach has received the award twice.

Petersen was selected by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association and announced live at an awards dinner Thursday evening in Houston, which benefited the American Heart Association. The award honors excellence in coaching while raising funds to fight heart disease and stroke.

Petersen guided the 2009 Broncos to a perfect 13-0 regular season, Boise State's seventh WAC Championship, and a win against previously undefeated Texas Christian University in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, concluding his third perfect regular season in four years.

He led the Broncos to their highest BCS ranking ever in 2009, as Boise State was No. 4 in the first BCS poll of the season. They never fell lower than No. 7 in the BCS, and spent the last five weeks ranked No. 6. Most impressively, Boise State managed to do so with one of its youngest teams ever. In his four seasons at Boise State, "Coach Pete" has clearly established himself as one of the nation's top football coaches, leading the Broncos to a bowl game each of those years.

The Paul "Bear" Bryant Awards honor excellence in coaching while raising funds to fight heart disease and stroke, the nation's No. 1 and No. 3 killers. Funds raised benefit research, community education and outreach programs for the American Heart Association. www.heart.org/bryantawards.

Marathon Oil Corporation is an integrated international energy company engaged in exploration and production; oil sands mining; integrated gas; and refining, marketing and transportation operations. Marathon, which is based in Houston, has principal operations in the United States, Angola, Canada, Equatorial Guinea, Indonesia, Libya, Norway and the United Kingdom. Marathon is the fourth largest United States-based integrated oil company and the nation's fifth largest refiner. http://www.marathon.com.

The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association is the largest national association that focuses on the crafts of both sportscasting and sportswriting. The association, with its headquarters in Salisbury, N.C., honors the National Sportscaster of the Year and the National Sportswriter of the Year.

SOURCE American Heart Association Houston Division