ATLANTA (Oct. 23, 2025) – The Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation, PNC Bank and Peach Bowl, Inc. will celebrate Utah Head Coach Kyle Whittingham Oct. 27 at the Utes' home football game against Colorado. Representatives will honor Whittingham as the 2019 recipient of The Dodd Trophy during the first quarter with an on-field presentation at Rice – Eccles Stadium to commemorate the national coaching award's 50th anniversary season.
Managed by Peach Bowl, Inc. and presented by PNC Bank, The Dodd Trophy, college football's most coveted national 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 coaching philosophy. Now celebrating its 50th anniversary this season, the award was established to honor the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division 1A) head football coach whose program represents the highest ideals on and off the field.
During the 2019 season, Whittingham led the Utes to an 11-2 record and a second consecutive Pac-12 South Division title. The 11 wins in 2019 were the third-most in school history and the most since 2008 when Whittingham led the team to a No. 2 finish in the AP poll following a 13-0 season.
Now in his 21st season at the helm and 32nd overall season at Utah, Whittingham is tied as the second-longest tenured head coach at the same school in the NCAA FBS and is the Utes' all-time wins leader. Whittingham ranks second among active Big 12 head coaches in career victories at the FBS level (172), while his total ranks fifth among all active FBS head coaches and fourth among head coaches at the same school.
Including his 11 seasons as a Utah assistant, Whittingham has contributed to a program-record 257 wins and coached 384 games (259 as head coach). His 172 career victories surpassed Ike Armstrong for the all-time mark, with Utah posting winning records in 17 of his 20 seasons, including 10 straight from 2014–23, seven 10-win campaigns and 11 bowl wins, which makes him tied for the most among active coaches.
Whittingham has consistently guided Utah to success during his time leading the program, including a 102-68 record in conference play, back-to-back Pac-12 titles in 2021 and 2022, and a Mountain West championship in 2008.
Under Whittingham, Utah has excelled off the field academically, producing six Academic All-American selections and 400 academic all-conference/honor roll awards. Britain Covey became the program's first Pac-12 Scholar Athlete of the Year in 2021, and the team has earned NCAA recognition for top 10 percent multi-year APR scores, including a perfect 1000 in the 2017-18 season. Utah also achieved a perfect 100 single-year Graduation Success Rate in 2017 and 2019, with a 96 GSR in 2024, which ranked second among Big 12 programs.
In the community, Whittingham has been instrumental in the creation of the Ute Academy – a resource center for current and former student-athletes that prioritizes personal and professional development. His desire to make an impact on his community and Utah student-athletes goes back years, as he and former Utah head coach Urban Meyer were the first to donate to the Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin Family Scholarship in 2008, which was created to benefit the opportunities of football student-athletes. Coach Whittingham is also a regular in the "Rivalry for Charity," an annual golf tournament with BYU that benefits the National Kidney Foundation.
The winner of the 2025 Dodd Trophy Presented by PNC Bank will be announced in Atlanta during bowl week of this year's College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. 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 2025 season.
