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Texas A&M University-Commerce head football coach Colby Carthel has been named as the College Coach of the Year by the National Football Foundation (NFF) Gridiron Club of Dallas Chapter, as announced Thursday. Carthel will be honored during the club’s Tenth Annual Awards Banquet on Sunday, March 18, at 6:00 p.m. at the Dallas/Addison Marriott Quorum by the Galleria.
Carthel is the inaugural recipient of the newly-created College Coach of the Year award from the Gridiron Club of Dallas Chapter.
Carthel recently completed his fifth season as the head football coach at A&M-Commerce, leading the Lions to a 14-1 record and the 2017 NCAA Division II National Championship following a 37-27 victory over West Florida. His Lions became the first team in Division II football history to claim the “Triple Crown” of the National Championship, the Harlon Hill Trophy (Luis Perez), and the NCAA Elite 90 Award (Garrett Blubaugh). Boasting a 49-15 career record, Carthel is the only A&M-Commerce coach to lead his team to the postseason in five straight seasons, including two bowl games and three consecutive trips to the NCAA Division II Playoffs.
In his five seasons with the Lions, he has mentored 126 all-Lone Star Conference selections and 16 All-Americans. Carthel’s success and influence have extended off the field, and nearly 70 of his student-athletes were named to honor rolls in fall 2017 while the team amassed more than 400 hours of community service in Port Aransas cleaning up from Hurricane Harvey the day after defeating Texas A&M-Kingsville.
Other major award winners from the NFF Gridiron Club of Dallas Chapter are Hayden Fry (College Football Hall of Fame Coach at SMU, North Texas, and Iowa) – Legends Award, Roland Rainey (Cotton Bowl Stadium General Manager) – Outstanding Contribution to Amateur Football Award, Smith Holder (Dallas Football Officials Association crew chief) – Steve Storie Official of the Year, Pat Doney (NBC 5/KXAS-TV sports anchor and reporter) – Media Person of the Year, Terry Gambill (Allen High School – Large High School Coach of the Year), Brady Carney (Muenster High School) – Small High School Coach of the Year, Cory Cain (Allen High School) – Assistant High School Coach of the Year, and Don Woods (Highland Park High School) – Assistant High School Coach of the Year.
The event has attracted a sellout crowd of 500-plus people each of the past nine years. For more information on 2018 tickets and/or banquet sponsorship opportunities, please contact club president Gerald Brence at 469-878-5370 or via email at Gerald.Brence@pisd.edu<mailto:gerald.brence@pisd.edu>.
The NFF Gridiron Club of Dallas is one of 120 nationwide chapters of the National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame. The NFF is a non-profit educational organization that runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta, The William V. Campbell Trophy® presented by Fidelity Investments, the NFF Scholar-Athlete Awards presented by Fidelity Investments, the NFF High School Showcases, the NFF Hampshire Honor Society and scholarships of more than $1.3 million for college and high school scholar-athletes.