Robert Morris coach Bernard Clark Jr. finalist for national award
Robert Morris announced Monday that Colonials football coach Bernard Clark Jr. is a finalist for the STATS Eddie Robinson Award.
The honor is presented annually to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision’s Coach of the Year.
A national group of more than 150 writers, broadcasters and others will select the winner, who will be celebrated at the STATS FCS Awards Banquet in Frisco, Texas, on Jan. 10, the night before the NCAA FCS national championship game.
Also awarded that night will be the Walter Payton Award (Offensive Player of the Year), the Buck Buchanan Award (Defensive Player of the Year) and the Jerry Rice Award (Freshman of the Year).
Clark, in his second season at the helm, led RMU to an overall record of 7-5 and a mark of 6-1 in the Northeast Conference. It was the first winning season for the Colonials since 2010.
RMU was picked seventh in the NEC Preseason Coaches Poll but it second, its best finish since winning the conference crown in 2010.
The Colonials earned their first road win since 2015: a 31-21 victory Sept. 21 at VMI. That snapped a 21-game losing streak away from home.
Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.
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