CLEVELAND — Brian Kelly, who has spent the last 19 years building three different college football programs into national powers, has been named the 2010 winner of the Lee Tressel Ohio College Coach of the Year by the Northeastern Ohio Chapter of the National Football Foundation for leading the Cincinnati Bearcats to an undefeated regular season in 2009 and a second consecutive Bowl Championship Series (BCS) appearance. He will be presented his award at the at the 22nd Annual Scholar-Athlete Awards banquet on Monday, April 26 at LaCentre Banquet Center in Westlake, Ohio.

Kelly’s overall record of 171-57-2 makes him the seventh-winningest active coach in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision in terms of victories. Prior to being named the head coach at the University of Notre Dame on December 11, Kelly led the University of Cincinnati to a record of 34-6 over three seasons, including two straight outright BIG EAST Conference titles and a trip to the 2008 Orange Bowl and 2009 Sugar Bowl. The record-breaking 2009 Bearcats finished the regular season ranked third in the BCS standings and fourth in both the Associated Press and USA Today/ESPN polls.

He spent three seasons from 2004-06 at Central Michigan University as well, and turned that program into a Mid-American Conference champion by going 9-4 in 2006. At Grand Valley State University, where Kelly’s head coaching career began, he tallied a 118-35-2 record that was highlighted by NCAA Division II national championships in 2002 (14-0) and 2003 (14-1).

Kelly earned the Home Depot National Coach of the Year Award in 2009, was the BIG EAST Conference Coach of the Year in 2007, 2008 and 2009 (the first time a BIG EAST football coach has won the award three straight years), and was the American Football Coaches Association Division II Coach of the Year in both 2002 and 2003.

Joining Kelly on the banquet dais will be 2010 Distinguished American award winner and two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin; as well as 2009 Distinguished American award recipient—the Ohio State University Athletics Director Gene Smith (St. Peter Chanel High School), who will present Griffin with his award; and OSU Head Football Coach Jim Tressel (Berea High School), who will be presenting the Lee Tressel Ohio College Coach-of-the-Year Award, named after his father.

For more information on the banquet, please contact Mike Ott or Julie Work at 440-892-4000 or via e-mail at neonff@nacda.com.

NFF