UAB's Clark Joins Saban, Malzahn As Coach Of The Year Candidate

BIRMINGHAM, AL - UAB football continues to turn heads on the national level, after the program was terminated in 2015 and thought to be gone forever. While University of Alabama coach Nick Saban gets the majority of the coaching accolades in Alabama, Saban and Auburn coach Gus Malzahn have company on the list of finalists for the Coach of the Year award in UAB's Bill Clark.

Clark is one of 16 semifinalists for the George Munger Collegiate Coach of the Year Award. The finalist round will include the top three coaches as selected in the semifinalist round. Finalist voting will open Dec. 12 and run until Dec. 26. The winner will be announced Dec. 27. Voters include Maxwell Football Club members, NCAA Head Football Coaches, Sports Information Directors and selected national media.
What Clark has done at UAB in 2017 has reached far beyond what experts expected. The Blazers are 7-4 overall and 5-2 in C-USA play and are bowl eligible for just the fifth time in program history and are on their way to playing in just the second bowl game in program history. UAB was picked to finish last in the C-USA preseason poll and was ranked 130th heading into the season.
Veteran sports editor Scott Adamson has spent the last 10 years covering sports in South Carolina (most recently at the Seneca Journal), where he has covered the likes of national championship coaches Steve Spurrier and Dabo Swinney, and he said he does not just think of Clark as a contender for the highest coaching honor in college football, but sees him as the favorite.
"I remember thinking before the season if UAB could win four games that would count as a major success," Adamson said. "Remember … this was a team that had been given the death penalty, although it was executed through no fault of its own. Regardless of whether or not some players stuck it out – which is a huge credit to Clark – UAB was still starting over. To get bowl eligible with six wins through its first nine games is remarkable. There are obviously other coaches who have done great jobs this season, but no one has done a better job than Clark."
2017 George Munger Collegiate Coach of the Year Semifinalists:

Matt Campbell - Iowa State
Paul Chryst - Wisconsin
Bill Clark - UAB
Mark Dantonio - Michigan State
Scott Frost - UCF
Lane Kiffin - FAU
Gus Malzahn - Auburn
Jeff Monken - United States Military Academy
Dan Mullen - Mississippi State
Mark Richt - Miami
Lincoln Riley - Oklahoma
Rich Rodriguez - Arizona
Nick Saban - Alabama
Kirby Smart - Georgia
Dabo Swinney - Clemson
Jeff Tedford - Fresno State

Photo of UAB Head Coach Bill Clark by Rob Foldy/Getty Images