Urban Meyer is more than just the Mountain West Conference's Coach of the Year. According to The Sporting News, he's also America's best.
Meyer, who guided Utah to its first outright conference championship in 46 years, is the publication's National Coach of the Year.
"It's very humbling," Meyer said while looking at a list of past winners. "Those all are coaches I look up to."
Ohio State's Jim Tressel won the award last season. Previous winners include Darrell Royal, Frank Broyles, Ara Parseghian, Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler. Former Utah State coaches John Ralston (Stanford) and Bruce Snyder (Arizona State) were also honored in their careers, as was ex-Weber State coach Mike Price (Washington State).
Like other accolades that have come Utah's way this season, Meyer said, coaching awards are the product of team success — a combination of players and staff who came together and got a job done.
"It's endless what you can say about this team," said Meyer, who is the first Utah football coach to win a conference title and nine games in his inaugural year at the helm.
Though picked to finish fifth in MWC preseason polls, the Utes (9-2) wound up with a four-game improvement over former coach Ron McBride's final season. They'll face Southern Mississippi in the Liberty Bowl on New Year's Eve.
It'll mark yet another ESPN appearance for the team, which Meyer acknowledged has benefitted from the national television exposure.
"We took a chance by going on ESPN," Meyer said. "And the chance paid off."
Victories over bowl-bound Pac-10 teams California and Oregon came with network cameras rolling. The success, coupled with sweeping conference rivals Air Force, BYU and Colorado State on the road for the first time in program history, helped land the Utes in the national rankings. They're currently 25th in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today polls.
It's just the second time the Utes have ever been included in the final regular-season rankings. The final polls are released after all bowl games are complete.
ALL-AMERICAN: Utah cornerback Eric Weddle is also being honored by The Sporting News. He's been named a second-team freshman All-American. Weddle had four quarterback sacks and three interceptions as a true freshman.
OTHER HONORS: College Football News has unveiled its All-Mountain West Conference team and it includes six Utes. The honorees include quarterback Alex Smith, running back Brandon Warfield, wide receiver Paris Warren, tight end Ben Moa, defensive lineman Josh Savage and defensive back Dave Revill.
BOOKS-N-BALL: Because of final exams, the Utes haven't practiced since last Saturday. They'll resume workouts tonight and gather again over the weekend. A more frequent practice schedule begins next week as preparations for the Liberty Bowl intensify.
National coach of the year
Winners of The Sporting News' national college football coach of the year award.
1963 — Darrell Royal, Texas
1964 — Frank Broyles, Arkansas
1965 — Duffy Daugherty, Michigan State
1966 — Ara Parseghian, Notre Dame
1967 — Johnny Pont, Indiana
1968 — Woody Hayes, Ohio State
1969 — Darrell Royal, Texas
1970 — John Ralston, Stanford
1971 — Chuck Fairbanks, Oklahoma
1972 — John McKay, Southern California
1973 — Barry Switzer, Oklahoma
1974 — Jerry Claiborne, Maryland
1975 — Emory Bellard, Texas A&M
1976 — Johnny Majors, Pittsburgh
1977 — Lou Holtz, Arkansas
1978 — Darryl Rogers, Michigan State
1979 — John Mackovic, Wake Forest
1980 — Vince Dooley, Georgia
1981 — Hayden Fry, Iowa
1982 — George MacIntyre, Vanderbilt
1983 — Mike White, Illinois
1984 — Jim Wacker, Texas Christian
1985 — Bo Schembechler, Michigan
1986 — John Cooper, Arizona State
1987 — Dick MacPherson, Syracuse
1988 — Lou Holtz, Notre Dame
1989 — No award given
1990 — Bobby Ross, Georgia Tech
1991 — Don James, Washington
1992 — Dennis Erickson, Miami
1993 — Terry Bowden, Auburn
1994 — Rich Brooks, Oregon
1995 — Gary Barnett, Northwestern
1996 — Bruce Snyder, Arizona State
1997 — Mike Price, Washington State
1998 — Phillip Fullmer, Tennessee
1999 — June Jones, Hawaii
2000 — Dennis Erickson, Oregon State
2001 — Ralph Friedgen, Maryland
2002 — Jim Tressel, Ohio State
2003 — Urban Meyer, Utah
E-mail: dirk@desnews.com