ATLANTA (Oct. 13, 2022) – The Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Peach Bowl, Inc. will celebrate legendary Michigan coach Lloyd Carr's 15th anniversary of winning the national coaching award on Oct. 15 at Michigan Stadium during the Wolverines' home football game against Penn State.
The Dodd Trophy presented by PNC is the most coveted Coach of the Year Award in college football and celebrates the head coach of a team who enjoys success on the gridiron, while also representing programs with the highest ideals of scholarship, leadership and integrity on and off the field – the three pillars of legendary coach Bobby Dodd's philosophy.
Coach Carr was awarded The Dodd Trophy during his final season as head coach of the Wolverines in 2007, 30 years after legendary Michigan Coach Bo Schembechler first took home the award in 1977. He spent his entire 13-year head coaching career in Ann Arbor, finishing with a 122-40 record, five Big Ten Conference titles and an undefeated 1997 season, where he led the Wolverines to their 11th National Championship. Carr owns the fifth-best winning percentage in Big Ten history (.779) and is the third-winningest coach in Michigan history.
He guided the school to a bowl game in each of his 13 seasons, and became the first Wolverine coach to win four straight bowl games. Michigan was ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 for all but 14 of Carr's 162 career games, including 65 appearances in the Top 10. Carr's teams also finished in the top three of the conference standings for 11 straight seasons before his retirement in 2007. Since his retirement, Carr was been inducted into the University of Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor, the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame.
Beyond the football field, Carr's legacy has continued through his involvement with the University, community and the sport of college football. He and his late wife Laurie championed many fundraising initiatives, including serving as the co-chairs of the campaign to build a new C.S. Mott Children's Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women's Hospital. He also endowed a scholarship awarded annually to a female student-athlete at Michigan, and initiated the Women's Football Academy and Men's Fantasy Football Experience, which have donated all proceeds to the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. Carr has additionally served on the NCAA Rules Committee and was a member of the American Football Coaches Association Board of Trustees.
"It's a privilege to honor a legendary coach like Lloyd Carr," said Jim Terry, chairman of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation. "The Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation is thrilled to celebrate Coach Carr's 15th anniversary at Michigan Stadium on Saturday. This year also marks Coach Bo Schembechler's 45th anniversary of winning the award, which is only fitting as he brought Carr on at Michigan in 1980 to join his staff."
"Coach Carr displayed an unparalleled devotion to the University of Michigan, its football program and its student-athletes by working with the program for nearly three decades," said Peach Bowl, Inc. CEO & President Gary Stokan. "Even beyond his retirement, he has embraced the three pillars of The Dodd Trophy and has continued to leave a legacy both in Ann Arbor and with the sport as a whole."
Since 2014, officials from the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Peach Bowl, Inc. have celebrated the major anniversaries of previous winners of The Dodd Trophy by honoring them during a game on their campus. Coaches such as Vince Dooley (Georgia), Bobby Bowden (Florida State), Bobby Ross (Georgia Tech), Dick Sheridan (NC State), George Welsh (Virginia), Dick MacPherson (Syracuse), Frank Beamer (Virginia Tech), Ralph Friedgen (Maryland) and Bill Snyder (Kansas State) were all recognized at their respective schools.
The winner of the 2022 Dodd Trophy will be announced in Atlanta during bowl week of this year's College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Week. A panel consisting of all previous winners, national media, a member of the Dodd family and a College Football Hall of Fame member will identify the final list of potential recipients at the conclusion of the 2022 season.
