UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State football head coach James Franklin has been named to the 2020 Dodd Trophy Watch List, it was announced by The Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Friday. The list includes 18 of the nation's top college football coaches representing teams who are scheduled to play during the fall season.
The Dodd Trophy celebrates the head coach of a team who has 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. The watch list was created through a selection process by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, taking into consideration each program's graduation rate, commitment to service and charity in the community, projected success for the 2020 season and Academic Progress Rate (APR).
Franklin, a 25-year football coaching veteran, was appointed Penn State's 16th head football coach on January 11, 2014 and enters his 10th season as a collegiate head football coach. Franklin's career head coaching record is 80-38 and he is one of only four current FBS coaches to lead his team to a bowl game in each of his first nine seasons as a head coach. Franklin attributes his success on the field to the strength of his teams' dedication to four core values: positive attitude, great work ethic, compete in everything you do and must be willing to sacrifice.
Under Franklin's direction, Penn State has finished in the top 12 in the final College Football Playoff rankings four consecutive seasons, earned berths in three New Year's Six bowl games, with two wins, and won the 2016 Big Ten Championship. Franklin has guided the Nittany Lions to an 86 percent graduation success rate, a perfect single-year 1,000 APR for the 2018-19 school year and record-breaking performances in the classroom.
James Franklin Bio:
- Franklin was named the 16th head football coach in the storied history of the Nittany Lion program on January 11, 2014.
- Franklin is one of four current FBS head coaches to lead his teams to a bowl game in each of his first nine seasons as a head coach.
- Franklin is one of three current Big Ten coaches (Ryan Day, Kirk Ferentz) to have won a Big Ten Championship.
- He owns an 80-38 career record, with seven consecutive winning seasons.
- Franklin has led his teams to three Top 10 finishes (3 at Penn State) and six Top 25 finishes (2 at Vanderbilt; 4 at Penn State).
- Under Franklin, Penn State is one of four teams (Clemson, Ohio State, Oklahoma) to rank in the top 12 of the CFP final rankings in each of the last four seasons.
- Franklin has led the Nittany Lions to three New Year's Six bowls - 2016 (Rose), 2017 (Fiesta) and 2019 (Cotton) - in the last four years, making Penn State one of eight teams to accomplish the feat.
- Franklin's squads have won two New Year's Six bowl games in the last three years, making the Nittany Lions one of seven teams to do so.
- Franklin guided Penn State to back-to-back New Year's Six bowls in 2016 (Rose) and 2017 (Fiesta) for the first time since 1985 (Orange) and 1986 (Fiesta).
- Over the last four years, Penn State has 42 wins, the most in program history for the Big Ten era, and 28 league wins, a program-best.
- Franklin has led Penn State to 32 home wins in the past five seasons to rank fourth in the FBS. Those 32 wins have included a trio of undefeated home slates.
- Franklin has 25 years of coaching experience at the collegiate and NFL level.
- In his first nine years as a head coach, Franklin mentored 76 players who have gone on to the NFL ranks.
- Penn State had six players selected in both the 2018 and 2019 NFL Draft and five players picked in 2020, marking the third-straight year that Penn State has had at least five draft picks, the first time that has happened since 1991-93.
- Franklin has secured top-25 recruiting classes each of his last eight seasons, including a top-5 class at Penn State in 2018.
Penn State on 2020 Watch Lists
Biletnikoff Award: Pat Freiermuth
Doak Walker Award: Journey Brown, Noah Cain
Dodd Trophy Watch List: James Franklin
Hornung Award: Journey Brown
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award: Sean Clifford
Lou Groza Award: Jake Pinegar
Mackey Award: Pat Freiermuth
Manning Award: Sean Clifford
Maxwell Award: Journey Brown
Nagurski Trophy: Shaka Toney
O'Brien Award: Sean Clifford
Thorpe Award: Lamont Wade
Wuerffel Trophy: Sean Clifford