Mark Stoops named a George Munger Award semifinalist

The head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats, Mark Stoops, has been named one of the 18 semifinalists for the George Munger Collegiate Coach of the Year Award.

After rebuilding the Kentucky Football program, Stoops has turned a once losing program into an eight-game winner in 2018. The Cats are 8-3 for the first time since 1984.

Stoops also led the first Kentucky team to be ranked in the AP and coaches poll since 2007 and helped guide the 2018 team to be the first Kentucky team ever ranked in the college football playoff rankings.

The Wildcats 5-3 mark in Southeastern Conference play was their first winning record in conference play in over 40 years (1977).

Semifinalist voting will begin on November 26th and end December 10th.

The finalist round will begin December 11th with the top three coaches selected with a winner being announced December 28th.

The winner will be presented at the Maxwell Football Club’s National Awards Gala on Friday, March 8, 2019 at the Tropicana Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Stoops will look make it a three year streak for SEC coaches as Alabama’s Nick Saban won in 2016 and Georgia’s Kirby Smart won in 2017.

Below is a list of all the 2018 semifinalists:

• Dino Babers Syracuse
• Bill Clark UAB
• Butch Davis FIU
• Luke Fickell Cincinnati
• Jim Harbaugh University of Michigan
• Josh Heupel UCF
• Brian Kelly Notre Dame
• Mike Leach Washington State University
• Lance Leipold Buffalo
• Jeff Monken Army
• Ed Orgeron LSU
• Lincoln Riley Oklahoma
• Nick Saban Alabama
• Kirby Smart Georgia
• Mark Stoops Kentucky
• Dabo Swinney Clemson
• Matt Wells Utah State
• Kyle Whittingham Utah