EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State head football coach Mel Tucker has been named to the midseason watch list for the Dodd Trophy, officials from the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation, and the Peach Bowl, Inc. recently announced.
In his second season at the helm of the Spartans, Tucker has helped lead MSU to a 7-0 start, marking just the eighth time overall and the first since 2015 that Michigan State has won its first seven games of the season. Michigan State is currently ranked No. 7 in the USA TODAY/AFCA Coaches Poll and No. 9 in The Associated Press Poll. The Spartans are also 4-0 in Big Ten play for the first time since 2017.
The Dodd Trophy, college football’s most coveted coaching 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 three pillars of legendary coach Bobby Dodd’s philosophy.
The midseason watch list was created through a selection process by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Peach Bowl, Inc., taking into consideration each program’s current performance during the 2021 season, Academic Progress Rate (APR), and each coach’s commitment to service and charity in the community.
Considering The Dodd Trophy represents more than just a coach’s performance on the field, a coach in his first year, who has not had a full season to establish his own impact on APR and the local community, is not eligible to win.
“Each of these coaches embodies the scholarship, leadership, and integrity that Coach Dodd stressed every day of his coaching career,” said Jim Terry, chairman of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation. “This award is more than just winning on the field, and every one of these coaches cares deeply about seeing his players grow and mature as young men, in addition to winning football games. That is what The Dodd Trophy is all about.”
No. 9/7 Michigan State returns to action Saturday, Oct. 30 to host No. 6/6 Michigan at noon in Spartan Stadium. The game will be televised on FOX.