Texas HC Charlie Strong named Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week

Following the Texas Longhorns 35-34 victory over the No. 8-ranked Baylor Bears in Austin on Saturday, head coach Charlie Strong was named the Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week, which honors a football coach whose program, “embodies the award’s three pillars of scholarship, leadership and integrity, while also having success on the playing field during the previous week.”

“What a huge win for Coach Strong and his Longhorns,” said Jim Terry, Chairman of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation. “To come from behind and knock off a previously-undefeated team certainly qualifies as one of the biggest wins of the weekend and makes Coach Strong a deserving honoree for this week’s award.”

Saturday’s victory over a previously unbeaten Baylor team marked Texas’ fifth ranked victory under Strong and the second top 10 win of the season, including the season-opening win over No. 10 Notre Dame.

But as seen in the official release from thedoddtrophy.com, the honor was about much more than on-field success for the third-year Longhorns head coach.

The Texas football team has seen success in the classroom as well under Strong’s tenure, boasting a notable Academic Progress Rate score of 971 last year. Coach Strong saw 10 of his student-athletes named to the 2015 Academic All-Big 12 team, as well as 44 student-athletes on the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll for Fall 2015.

Coach Strong has also had an active presence in the Austin community. He hosts the annual Greater East Austin Football Clinic for less fortunate children. He’s been known to make surprise visits to patients at the Austin Children’s Hospital, as well as a local center for the homeless, especially during the holiday season.

Now 4-4 on the season and 2-3 in conference play, Strong’s Longhorns will head to Lubbock on Saturday as Texas attempts to secure its first road win of the season and move above .500 on the season entering the final stretch.