DALLAS (FWAA) – The Football Writers Association of America has announced nine finalists for the 2006 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award to be voted upon by the entire membership.

With the regular season heading into the final week, the FWAA, in conjunction with the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, has tabbed the following finalists: Houston's Art Briles, Michigan's Lloyd Carr, Wake Forest's Jim Grobe, Hawaii's June Jones, BYU's Bronco Mendenhall, Arkansas' Houston Nutt, Boise State's Chris Petersen Rutgers' Greg Schiano, and Oklahoma's Bob Stoops.

The finalists will be placed on a ballot which will be sent out to the entire FWAA membership. FWAA members will be asked to vote for their top three choices in the order they are deserving.

The FWAA coaching award is named after Robinson, a coaching legend at Grambling State University for 55 years. He has more Division I victories (408) than any other coach. The winner of the FWAA/Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award will be announced and honored at a reception on Jan. 5 in Glendale, Ariz., in conjunction with the BCS 1-2 game.

It is a particularly competitive year in the coaching profession. As a result, the FWAA All-America Committee, which selects the finalists, believed it was up to the membership to decide among an array of candidates.

Surprising years by Arkansas, Wake Forest, Michigan and Rutgers were reasons for the competitive balance.

Nutt's Razorbacks came out of nowhere after losing their opener badly to USC, won 10 straight games, and secured a place in the SEC title game opposite Florida. Wake Forest, under Grobe, likewise rather stunningly made the ACC title game with the first 10-win season in school history.

Rutgers may be the Cinderella story with Schiano, after taking East Coast football by storm and contending for the Big East title. Michigan, after a sub-par 2005 season, stormed back to win its first 11 games before falling to top-ranked Ohio State. The Wolverines have virtually secured a spot in a BCS bowl game.

Meanwhile, strong seasons by BYU, Houston and Hawaii all qualified those coaches as Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year candidates.

Boise State's Petersen has directed the Broncos to the only other unbeaten regular season in major college football besides Ohio State and a virtually assured spot in the BCS. Stoops' Sooners will be playing in the Big 12 title game against Nebraska after losing their starting quarterback and top running back.

Of the nine candidates, only Stoops is a previous winner. He won the Eddie in 2000, the same season his Sooners won the FWAA's Grantland Rice Trophy, symbolic of the national championship.

The Football Writers Association of America, a non-profit organization founded in 1941, consists of more than 900 men and women across North America who cover college football for a living. The membership includes journalists, broadcasters and publicists, as well as key executives in all the areas that involve the game. The FWAA works to govern areas that include game day operations, major awards, a national poll and its annual All-America team.

For more information on the Eddie Robinson Award, contact FWAA executive director Steve Richardson (972-713-6198 or tiger@fwaa.com).

Eddie Robinson Award
• Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award | All-time winners