Liberty Mutual Coach Of The Year Returns For Eighth Season, Honoring College Football's Top Leaders On The Field And In The Community

BOSTON, Sept. 25, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Every year college football fans around the country come out to support their teams with great passion, showing pride for their gridiron heroes and alma maters.  Liberty Mutual Insurance gives fans a daily opportunity to express that fervor by opening voting for the 2013 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award, the only college football award that supports both charity and scholarship through its winners by celebrating one coach at each college level who best exemplifies responsibility, integrity, sportsmanship and excellence both on and off the field.

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Each of the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year winners from four college football divisions – FBS, FCS, Division II, and Division III – receives $50,000 from Liberty Mutual Insurance to donate to the charity or charities of their choice.  These funds have been used by winning coaches to benefit such organizations as Big Brothers Big Sisters, Habitat for Humanity, Lone Survivor Foundation, local Boys & Girls Clubs, Special Olympics and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.  In addition, winning coaches earn $20,000 for their school's alumni association to support scholarship.  Since 2006, Liberty Mutual Insurance has awarded $1.8 million to more than 100 charities and colleges across the country through its Coach of the Year Award winners.

Now through December 3, fans can visit CoachoftheYear.com to cast their vote for their favorite coach in each of the four divisions. Additionally, fans can also vote for the first time on Facebook at Facebook.com/LMCoachoftheYear, where they also are encouraged to rally support for their coach through their social community.  Winning coaches will be announced January 6, 2014, prior to the national championship game.

"The Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award stands for something unique, as it is not just about coaches' on-field success, but also their strong character and commitment to their student-athletes and communities," said Archie Manning, Chairman of the National Football Foundation & College Football Hall of Fame.  "I am very proud to recognize, with Liberty Mutual Insurance and the National Football Foundation, some of the best leaders in the game today and welcome fans to do the same by casting their votes at CoachoftheYear.com and on Facebook."

Created in partnership with The National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame, this year's campaign will also contain such new features as: voting on Facebook; exclusive video content featuring college football coaches; and original articles, photos and videos by a network of college student-correspondents.  

Determining Finalists and Winners

Following the close of fan voting on December 3, the top 15 coaches with the most fan votes in each of the four college football divisions advance to an evaluation process to determine the finalists.  This process utilizes an objective scoring model endorsed by the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame to measure coaching excellence, sportsmanship, integrity, academic success and community commitment.

From that model, 10 FBS finalists and five each in FCS, Division II and Division III will be announced December 10 at a press conference held in conjunction with the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame Class of 2013 induction in New York City.  A finalist round of voting will then reopen for fans, while at the same time ballots will be cast by members of the College Football Hall of Fame and a select group of the national college football media to determine this year's winners. The 2013 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award winners will be announced in Newport Beach, Calif., on Monday, January 6, 2014, in advance of the national championship game.

This year's recipients will join a fraternity of college coaches who have supported their players to achieve excellence both on and off the field.  Most recently, the 2012 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award winners were Brian Kelly, Notre Dame (FBS); Willie Fritz, Sam Houston State (FCS); Peter Rossomando, University of New Haven (Division II); and Glenn Caruso, University of St. Thomas (Division III).

"Each of our Coach of the Year winners represent a model for success on the field, high performance in the classroom by their student-athletes, and the importance of charitable and civic support in their communities," said James MacPhee, senior vice president and Chief Marketing Officer at Liberty Mutual Insurance.  "Liberty Mutual Insurance is proud to support the coaching leaders that help enrich the lives of their student-athletes as well as the charities and organizations they assist through their commitment to the communities they live in."

Coach of the Year Voting Schedule

The 2013 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year voting and selection process involves fans, College Football Hall of Fame players and coaches, and college football media with key dates for all fans to show their support:

• September 25 – December 3 – Fans can visit CoachoftheYear.com or the Coach of the Year Facebook page to cast their vote. Fans can also join the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year community on Facebook to experience a wide variety of video and editorial content featuring college football coaches from each of the four divisions.
• December 10 – Finalists are announced in conjunction with the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame Class of 2014 induction in New York City.
• December 10 – December 22 – Fans can vote for the 2013 finalist of their choice by visiting CoachoftheYear.com or voting on the Coach of the Year Facebook page. Votes are also cast by two select panels – one representing the College Football Hall of Fame and one comprised of select members of the media. Winners are ultimately determined using the following voting weight:  Fans 20%, College Football Hall of Fame 55% and Media 25%.
• January 6 – The 2013 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award winners are announced in advance of the national championship game in California.

To support your coach's responsibility, integrity, sportsmanship and excellence, visit coachoftheyear.com, and submit your vote on Facebook at Facebook.com/LMCoachoftheYear or connect with us on Twitter at @lmcoachofyear.

About Liberty Mutual Insurance
"Helping people live safer, more secure lives" since 1912, Boston-based Liberty Mutual Insurance is a diversified global insurer and the third largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2012 direct premiums written as reported by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.  Liberty Mutual Insurance also ranks 81^st on the Fortune 100 list of largest U.S. corporations, based on 2012 revenue.  The company employs over 50,000 people in approximately 900 offices throughout the world.

The sixth-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 14,000 companies, credit unions, professional associations and alumni groups.

Liberty Mutual Insurance is the Official Property and Casualty and Life Insurance Partner of the 2014 and 2016 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Teams.  Liberty Seguros (Brazil) is a National Supporter and Official Insurer of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2013 FIFA Confederation Cup, both of which are in Brazil.

About the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame
Founded in 1947 with early leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl "Red" Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame is a non-profit educational organization that runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. With 120 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame, the NFF Scholar-Athlete Award presented by Fidelity Investments, Play It Smart, the NFF Hampshire Honor Society, the NFF National Scholar-Athlete Alumni Association, and scholarships of more than $1.3 million for college and high school scholar-athletes. The NFF presents the MacArthur Bowl, the William V. Campbell Trophy endowed by HealthSouth, and releases the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings. For more information, please visit www.footballfoundation.org.

SOURCE Liberty Mutual Insurance