Walter Camp Foundation, Inc.

TCU’s Gary Patterson Named Walter Camp Coach of the Year

Gary Patterson, head coach of the undefeated and Fiesta Bowl-bound TCU Horned Frogs, has been named the Walter Camp 2009 Coach of the Year.

NEW HAVEN, CT – Gary Patterson, head coach of the undefeated and Fiesta Bowl-bound TCU Horned Frogs, has been named the Walter Camp 2009 Coach of the Year. The Walter Camp Coach of the Year is selected by the nation’s 120 Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches and sports information directors.

Patterson is the first coach from the Mountain West Conference to earn the award.

Under Patterson’s leadership, the third-ranked Horned Frogs (12-0) earned their first BCS bowl appearance, a Jan. 4 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl date with No. 6 Boise State (13-0). TCU’s undefeated regular season was its first since its 1938 national championship team.

TCU is the only team in the nation to rank in the top 10 in both offense and defense this season. The Horned Frogs lead the nation in defense, allowing just 233.3 yards per game. TCU is fourth in offense, compiling 469.1 yards per contest. The Horned Frogs have also set single-season school records for points scored (488, 40.7 points per game) and total offense (5,629 yards).

In his nine seasons as head coach, Patterson has totaled an impressive 85-27 (.759) mark. Patterson's 85 wins are second on the Frogs' career victory list. Patterson's winning percentage ranks fifth among active FBS coaches.

Patterson came to TCU in 1998 and served as the defensive coordinator for two seasons before being named the head coach in December 2000. The Horned Frogs have won five conference titles with Patterson on staff in addition to posting seven of the school's 11 10-win seasons.

Prior to his arrival in Fort Worth, Patterson served as assistant coach at Kansas State (1982), Tennessee Tech (1983-84), UC Davis (1986), Cal Lutheran (1987), Pittsburg State (1988), Sonoma State (1989-91), Utah State (1992-94), Navy (1995) and New Mexico (1996-97).

A native of Rozel, Kansas, Patterson is a 1983 graduate of Kansas State University where he played strong safety and outside linebacker for the Wildcats. Patterson and his wife, Kelsey, have three sons: Josh, Cade and Blake.

Patterson, Walter Camp Player of the Year Colt McCoy (Texas) and the members of the 2009 All-America team will be honored at the organization’s national awards banquet on Saturday, January 16, 2010 at the Yale University Commons in New Haven. In addition, the Foundation will honor three individuals – NFL Hall-of-Famer John Elway (Stanford), former NFL All-Pro David Fulcher and ABC broadcast personality Robin Roberts (Southeastern Louisiana) – with major awards. The Foundation is offering a "Holiday Ticket Promotion" for the National Awards Dinner. Buy two tickets for $400 (you save $150) before December 25. Please call (203) 288-CAMP (288-2267) for more information.

Walter Camp, “The Father of American football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team.

The Walter Camp Football Foundation is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA). The NCFAA was founded in 1997 as a coalition of the major collegiate football awards to protect, preserve and enhance the integrity, influence and prestige of the game’s predominant awards. The NCFAA encourages professionalism and the highest standards for the administration of its member awards and the selection of their candidates and recipients. Visit http://www.ncfaa.org.

Walter Camp Coach of the Year recipients

2009 – Gary Patterson, TCU

2008 – Nick Saban, Alabama

2007 – Mark Mangino, Kansas

2006 – Greg Schiano, Rutgers

2005 – Joe Paterno, Penn State

2004 – Tommy Tuberville, Auburn

2003 – Bob Stoops, Oklahoma

2002 – Kirk Ferentz, Iowa

2001 – Ralph Friedgen, Maryland

2000 – Bob Stoops, Oklahoma

1999 – Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech

1998 – Bill Synder, Kansas State

1997 – Lloyd Carr, Michigan

1996 – Bruce Synder, Arizona State

1995 – Gary Barnett, Northwestern

1994 – Joe Paterno, Penn State

1993 – Terry Bowden, Auburn

1992 – Gene Stallings, Alabama

1991 – Bobby Bowden, Florida State

1990 – Bobby Ross, Georgia Tech

1989 – Bill McCartney, Colorado

1988 – Don Nehlen, West Virginia

1987 – Dick MacPherson, Syracuse

1986 – Jimmy Johnson, Miami

1985 – Fisher DeBerry, Air Force

1984 – Joe Morrisson, South Carolina

1983 – Mike White, Illinois

1982 – Jerry Stovall, Louisiana State

1981 – Jackie Sherrill, Pittsburgh

1980 – Vince Dooley, Georgia

1979 – John Mackovic, Wake Forest

1978 – Warren Powers, Missouri

1977 – Lou Holtz, Arkansas

1976 – Frank R. Burns, Rutgers

1975 – Frank Kush, Arizona State

1974 – Barry Switzer, Oklahoma

1973 – Johnny Majors, Pittsburgh

1972 – Joe Paterno, Penn State

1971 – Bob Devaney, Nebraska

1970 – Bob Blackman, Dartmouth

1969 – Bo Schembechler, Michigan

1968 – Woody Hayes, Ohio State

1967 – John Pont, Indiana

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Walter Camp, "The Father of American football," first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp — a former Yale University athlete and football coach — is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. The Walter Camp Football Foundation — a New Haven based all volunteer group — was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All America team.