Utah Football: Kyle Whittingham Named Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week

All is well in Salt Lake City for the No. 4 Utah Utes football team. After a couple more Pac-12 Player of the Week honors for a couple Utes, it was also announced today that head coach Kyle Whittingham was named the Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week after the victory over Cal late Saturday night. For more on the Dodd Trophy, here's the official press release.

ATLANTA (October 12, 2015) - Officials from the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl today announced that Utah Head Football Coach Kyle Whittingham has been selected as The Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week.

The Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week Award honors the football coach whose program embodies the award's three pillars of scholarship, leadership and integrity, while also having success on the playing field during the previous week.

"It is great to see a head coach that has been so loyal to a university and program achieve success the way Coach Whittingham has at Utah," said Jim Terry, Chairman of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation. "Utah student-athletes are being recognized with all-conference awards both on and off of the field and it is a direct result of his leadership of those young men."

Under Coach Whittingham's tutelage, Utah has stressed academics and its student-athletes have responded. In 2014, the program registered an Academic Progress Rating (APR) score of 973 out of a possible 1,000. Since he became head coach in 2005, his players have earned three Academic All-America honors and 186 academic all-conference awards.

Over the past decade, Whittingham has shown to be a strong supporter of the National Kidney Foundation of Utah and Idaho. For the past 27 years, the Liberty Mutual Invitational Golf Tournament raises funds for the National Kidney Foundation and it has grown into a BYU-Utah rivalry with the head coaches of both teams either playing in the tournament or being strong advocates of the fundraiser. The event brings in more than $100,000 a year.

On Saturday night, No. 5 Utah remained unbeaten after a 30-24 victory over No. 23 California. With a 5-0 record, the Utes moved up to No. 4 in this week's AP Top-25 Poll and are receiving the second-most first-place votes. Since becoming head coach in 2005, Whittingham has a 90-43 overall record and is an impressive 8-1 all-time in bowl games, which is tied for the best bowl winning percentage of any coach in NCAA history. In his 20 years of being on the coaching staff at Utah, Whittingham has participated in more Utah victories (170), than any other coach in school history.

The Dodd Trophy - along with the Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week Award - celebrates the head coach of a team who enjoys success on the gridiron, while also stressing the importance of scholarship, leadership and integrity.

The 2015 Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week Honorees Include:
Week
Coach
School
AP Ranking

1
Pat Fitzgerald
Northwestern
20

2
Mark Dantonio
Michigan State
7

3
David Shaw
Stanford
15

4
Jim Mora
UCLA
18

5
Dabo Swinney
Clemson
5

6
Kyle Whittingham
Utah
4

The winner of the 2015 Dodd Trophy will be announced in Atlanta during Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Week. A panel consisting of all previous winners, national media, a member of the Dodd family and a College Football Hall of Fame member will identify the final list of potential recipients at the conclusion of the 2015 season.
@DoddTrophy

ABOUT THE DODD TROPHY
The Dodd Trophy was established in 1976 to honor the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division 1A) head football coach whose program represents the highest ideals on and off the field. The award honors the coach of a team which enjoys a successful football season, while also stressing the importance of academic excellence and character, as did Coach Dodd's teams during his 22 years as head football coach of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Coach Dodd remains one of college football's legendary figures, both as a coach and a player. Coach Dodd was a native of Galax, Virginia, and played his college ball at the University of Tennessee where his team had 27 wins, one loss and two ties during the three years he played. Coach Dodd was selected to the National College Football Hall of Fame both as a coach and as a player. More information about The Dodd Trophy is available at TheDoddTrophy.com.

ABOUT THE CHICK-FIL-A PEACH BOWL
The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl is the ninth-oldest bowl game in the country and is one of New Year's Six Bowls selected to host the College Football Playoff. In 2014 and 2015, the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl will host games of top nationally ranked teams as assigned by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee. In 2016, the Bowl will host its first Playoff Semifinal (#1 vs. #4 or #2 vs. #3). The Bowl has sold out 18 of the last 20 years and has earned a reputation as one of the most competitive bowls in the country, with 55% of its games being decided by a touchdown or less. The Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl has disbursed more than $137 million in team payouts over its 47-year history and has increased team payout every year since 1996. The Bowl also leads all other bowl games in charitable and scholarship contributions, giving more than $17.5 million to organizations in need since 2002. More information about the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl and its events is available at Chick-fil-APeachBowl.com. For news, updates and insider information, follow us on Twitter at @CFAPeachBowl or find us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ChickfilAPeachBowl.