PHILADELPHIA – For the second time in his six seasons as head coach at Illinois State, Brock Spack has been named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award presented by The Sports Network. The Robinson Award, now in its 28th year, is given to the top coach in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) each year and is named after legendary Grambling head coach Eddie Robinson.
Spack was previously named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award in 2012, when he led the Redbirds to a 9-4 overall record and an appearance in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs at Eastern Washington.
This season, Spack has led the Redbirds to wins over four nationally-ranked FCS opponents and a 9-1 record, marking just the fourth nine-win season in school history, but the second in the last three seasons under his leadership. Picked sixth in the Missouri Valley Football Conference preseason poll, Illinois State started the season 7-0, marking the first time an ISU team has been 7-0 since 1932. The Redbirds have a chance to secure at least a share of the conference championship with a win over Southern Illinois on Saturday in the regular-season finale at Hancock Stadium.
During his tenure at Illinois State, Spack is 42-25 (.627) and has led his teams to winning campaigns in five of his six seasons at the helm of the program. His 42 wins rank him fourth on the all-time coaching wins list at Illinois State and his winning percentage of .627 ranks third all-time. In addition, he helped 48 players earn All-Missouri Valley Football Conference honors and has mentored 15 players who were named to the league's All-Newcomer team.
Past winners of the esteemed Eddie Robinson include Mark Duffner, Erik Russell, Chris Ault, Jim Tressel, Houston Nutt, Andy Talley, Paul Johnson, Joe Glenn, Jerry Kill, Jerry Moore, and the only two-time winners, Mickey Matthews and Craig Bohl.
A national panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries select the Robinson Award, with the winner set to be announced, Dec. 15, at The Sports Network FCS Awards Banquet and Presentation in Philadelphia.
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