The 'Age of Responsibility' Continues in College Football: Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Voting Begins September 6

The 'Age of Responsibility' Continues in College Football: Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Voting Begins September 6

BOSTON, Sept. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Liberty Mutual -- the sixth largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. -- today opens fan voting for the 2007 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award, honoring college football coaches who best exemplify responsibility and excellence on and off the field of play.

Expanded from the inaugural 2006 award given to one winner (Greg Schiano, Rutgers), Liberty Mutual will present its 2007 award to a coach from all four NCAA divisions. Each winner will receive $50,000 from Liberty Mutual to support his civic and charitable activities, $20,000 in scholarship to his school's alumni association, and will be recognized in the permanent Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year display at the National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind.

Fans across the country are encouraged to visit www.coachoftheyear.com between September 6 and November 27 to vote for the college football coach who they believe embodies responsibility -- not only to his own team and players, but also in society and in his community. All football head coaches at an NCAA-member college or university at all division levels are eligible for consideration.

"The Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year award differentiates itself from other college football trophies by recognizing the positive impact our coaches make on the lives of the student-athletes they mentor and the communities in which they live," said ESPN College Football Analyst Kirk Herbstreit. "This is also the only award that gives fans a voice in choosing the winner, both through their votes and the commentary they submit on why their coach is the most responsible both on and off the field."

The top 25 fan vote getters in each NCAA division will be scored using a model endorsed by the College Football Hall of Fame on such criteria as coaching excellence, sportsmanship and integrity, academic excellence and community commitment. The scoring will result in ten finalists in Division I-A (Football Bowl Subdivision) and five finalists from Division I-AA (Football Championship Subdivision), Division II, and Division III.

Fans return to www.coachoftheyear.com between December 5 and 15 to vote among the finalists. An elite committee comprised of College Football Hall of Fame coaches and players, and members of the national college football media also will cast votes to determine the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year in each division. Fan votes contribute 20 percent to each coach's final score, with the Hall of Fame voters and media contributing 55 percent and 25 percent, respectively.

A half-hour ABC/ESPN special will profile the four winners on December 29 at 5:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. PT).

"Every day in communities across the country, sports coaches impart valuable life lessons about leadership, cooperation, and integrity," said Greg Gordon, Liberty Mutual Group vice president, Consumer Marketing. "Liberty Mutual honors responsible coaching because it is one of the clearest examples of a positive influence a person's actions have on young people, their families, and entire communities."

Road to the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year

Throughout the college football season, ABC will air six half-hour "Road to the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year" specials (2:00 p.m. ET, 4:00 p.m. PT), hosted by Keith Jackson and Kirk Herbstreit, and featuring some of today's most respected college coaches, as well as a look at a few coaches at the high school level who have had a significantly positive impact on their communities:

   September 22 -- Greg Schiano (Rutgers), Karl Dorell (UCLA) and Skip Holtz                   (East Carolina)   September 29 -- Frank Beamer (Virginia Tech), John Gagliardi (St. John's,                   Minn.), and John McKissick (Summerville, S.C., High                   School)   October 6    -- Urban Meyer (Florida), Chris Petersen (Boise State),                   Bret Bielema (Wisconsin) and Chuck Martin (Grand Valley                   State, Mich.)   October 20   -- Rich Rodriguez (West Virginia), Art Briles (Houston) and                   Clint Young (Greensburg, Kan., High School)   November 3   -- Dennis Franchione (Texas A&M), Mark Speckman (Willamette,                   Ore.) and Dino Mangiero (Poly Prep Country Day, Brooklyn)   November 10  -- To be determined.   

A Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year mobile cruiser also will travel the nation visiting college football stadiums and youth sports venues throughout the season to allow fans to cast votes and interact with responsible coaching programs.

"Through numerous programs and initiatives, The National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame (NFF) strives to promote the positive values of amateur football and is pleased that Liberty Mutual has brought well-deserved recognition to outstanding coaches not only for victories on the field but for their commitment to the development of the student-athlete and their communities," said NFF Chairman Ron Johnson.

About Liberty Mutual Group

"Helping people live safer, more secure lives" since 1912, Liberty Mutual Group (www.libertymutual.com) is a leading multi-line insurer in the U.S. whose largest line of business is personal auto based on 2006 direct written premium. A top ten provider of auto and home insurance to individuals, Liberty Mutual is an industry leader in affinity partnerships, offering its personal lines products to employees and members of more than 10,000 companies, credit unions, and alumni and professional associations. Liberty Mutual Group ranks 95th on the Fortune 500 list of largest corporations in the United States. The company, headquartered in Boston, Mass., employs over 39,000 people in more than 900 offices throughout the world.

About the National Football Foundation & the College Football Hall of Fame

With 120 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, The National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. The NFF presents the MacArthur Trophy, the Draddy Trophy presented by HealthSouth, and releases the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings. NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., Play It Smart, the NFF Center for Youth Development Through Sport at Springfield College (Mass.), the NFL-NFF Coaching Academy, and scholarships of over $1 million for college and high school scholar-athletes. For more information, please visit www.footballfoundation.org or www.collegefootball.org.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact:

Source: Liberty Mutual

CONTACT: Lynne Cavanaugh of Weber Shandwick, +1-617-520-7046,
LCavanaugh@webershandwick.com, for Liberty Mutual; or Glenn Greenberg of
Liberty Mutual, +1-617-574-5874, glenn.greenberg@libertymutual.com

Web site: http://www.coachoftheyear.com/
http://www.libertymutual.com/
http://www.footballfoundation.org/
http://www.collegefootball.org/

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Profile: International Entertainment