Coach Of The Year Honors Piling Up For UAB's Bill Clark

BIRMINGHAM, AL - UAB football coach Bill Clark was already gaining respect and notoriety last season when he took the Blazers to a bowl game in the team's first season back from a two-year hiatus. But the 2018 season has seen Clark pile up the accolades after UAB captured its first conference title.

The Sporting News announced this week it has named Clark the 2018 Coach of the Year, an honor awarded by the longtime sports publication since 1963. Clark joins a list of legendary coaches such as Darrell Royal, Woody Hayes, Barry Switzer, Lou Holtz and Nick Saban.

“I don’t want to sound immodest. It was a big deal,” Clark told Sporting News of his team’s season. “It was a tough effort. A lot of things went into this, from fundraising to finding players all across the country to just be competitive, and then just to have a chance to win a championship really speaks to how hard this group worked.

As well, Clark will be announced in a few weeks as the winner of the Eddie Robinson Award, which is given annually to the country's best college football coach at any level. (For more updates on this story and free news alerts for your neighborhood, sign up for your local Patch morning newsletter.)

The FWAA, in partnership with the Allstate Sugar Bowl, selected the 50-year-old Clark over seven other finalists: Brian Kelly of 12-0 Notre Dame; Nick Saban of 13-0 Alabama; Dabo Swinney of 13-0 Clemson, Lincoln Riley of 12-1 Oklahoma; Josh Heupel of 12-0 Central Florida; Jeff Monken of 10-2 Army; and Jeff Tedford of 11-2 Fresno State.

Clark was recently given a contract extension by UAB, making him the highest paid coach in Conference USA. The new agreement is a five-year term that extends through the 2023-2024 football season. Clark's compensation will begin at $1.45 million and reach $1.65 million over the life of the term. Funding for the salary will be supported by UAB, as well as a significant portion from the UAB Athletics Foundation.

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