A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE AFCA AND THE AFCA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP COACHES' TROPHY

One of the most visible of the American Football Coaches Association's programs is the annual awarding of the AFCA National Championship Trophy, affectionately known by all sports fans as "The Coaches' Trophy," now the symbol of college football supremacy. Appropriately, The Coaches' Trophy was the inspiration of former University of Miami Assistant Football Coach William A. "Billy" Proulx in the early 1980s. Charles McClendon, then AFCA Executive Director, embraced the idea in 1985 and he helped develop the program. The original trophy honored Edward J. Gerrits, patriarch of a highly successful Miami, Florida, general contracting firm, Edward J. Gerrits, Inc. Under the leadership of sons Patrick T. and Michael J. Gerrits, The Gerrits Foundation not only funded the creation of the beautiful Waterford Crystal® trophy, but also established a $20,000 scholarship to each championship school. Though sponsorship of the trophy has changed over the years, the design of The Coaches' Trophy has remained consistent throughout To date, more than $300,000 in scholarships have been awarded, and the pride and prestige of winning The Coaches' Trophy grows each year.

Since 1922, the AFCA has consistently guarded the traditions of college football. It is currently under the leadership of Executive Director Grant Teaff, legendary coach of the Baylor Bears and member of the College Football Hall of Fame. In 1998, Coach Teaff announced that the winner of the Bowl Championship Series title game would be awarded the Trophy on the field immediately following the game, further elevating the prestige of The Coaches' Trophy . The AFCA has steadily innovated changes in order to preserve the game's traditions, enhance its ethical standing, instill sportsmanship in the players, coaches and fans alike, encourage scholarship and promote the wonder of this uniquely American game through charitable, philanthropic and community-based initiatives.

CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM HIGHLIGHTS

• USC and Oklahoma have each won 6 times
• Alabama has won 5 times
• Miami, Nebraska and Texas have each won 4 times
• Three-time winners include Notre Dame and Ohio State
• To date, 40 coaches have won the 56 championships
• No coach has ever won a title at two different schools
• Bear Bryant won 4 titles at Alabama and John McKay won 4 titles at USC
• Three-time winners are Tom Osborne at Nebraska, Darrel Royal at Texas and Bud Wilkinson at Oklahoma
• Miami is the only school to have won four championships under four different coaches: Howard Schnellenberger in 1983, Jimmy Johnson in 1987, Dennis Erickson in 1989 and Larry Coker in 2001.