Edwards to Receive AFCA's Amos Alonzo Stagg Award

WACO -- Former Brigham Young University Head Coach LaVell Edwards has been selected as the 2003 recipient of the American Football Coaches Association's Amos Alonzo Stagg Award.

The award, which honors those "whose services have been outstanding in the advancement of the best interests of football," will be presented to Edwards at the AFCA Awards Luncheon on January 7 during the 2003 AFCA Convention in New Orleans. In addition to accepting the Stagg Award, Edwards will also speak during the "Master Coach" session on January 6.

"I'm extremely pleased and honored to receive this award," Edwards said. "To receive an award named after Amos Alonzo Stagg, a man who did so much for the game of football and accomplished so much in his career, is an honor. I remember seeing this award presented as a young coach but I never thought I'd receive it. This is a credit to the players and coaches I've worked with over the years."

Edwards, who is currently serving an LDS Church mission in New York with his wife Patty, is the first coach with Brigham Young ties to receive the AFCA's most prestigious award.

Edwards retired in 2000 after 29 seasons at BYU with a career record of 257-101-3 (.716) at the school. His teams won 20 conference titles, including a share of the 1999 Mountain West Conference crown and appeared in 22 bowl games. In 1984, he was named AFCA National Coach of the Year after BYU finished the season 13-0 and won the national championship.

Along with the national honor, Edwards was a five-time winner of the AFCA's Regional Coach of the Year Award. He was a member of the Association's Board of Trustees from 1978-1987, serving as AFCA President in his final year on the Board.

His 257 wins at BYU are the second-most in Division I-A by a coach at one school and the number ranks as the eighth-best single-school total in college football history. Only 12 coaches in the history of the game have won more games overall than Edwards.

Edwards joined Hal Mitchell's BYU football staff as an assistant coach in 1962. He was named BYU's head coach in 1972 and enjoyed non-losing seasons every year but 1973, when the Cougars finished 5-6. Labeled a "national coaching treasure" by USA Today, Edwards coached his teams to four top-10 rankings and 13 top-25 finishes. Edwards' teams were known for their wide-open offenses. His quarterbacks have thrown more than 11,500 passes for more than 103,000 yards and 645 touchdowns in 29 seasons. All-American quarterbacks to play for Edwards include Gifford Nielsen, Marc Wilson, Jim McMahon, Steve Young, Robbie Bosco, Ty Detmer and Steve Sarkisian. Awards won by his players include a Heisman Trophy, a Maxwell Award, two Outland Trophies, four Davey O'Brien Awards and 35 All-America citations.

Since his first season in 1972, Edwards guided BYU to 22 postseason bowl appearances, including a string of 17 straight from 1978-1994. In 29 seasons, Edwards was 132-33 (.800) in Cougar Stadium and 1-0 in LaVell Edwards Stadium after the stadium was officially named in his honor prior to Edwards' final game in Provo in 2000.

When he became head coach in 1972, Edwards inherited a BYU football program that had a .431 winning percentage in 47 seasons. Over the years, Edwards' teams made appearances in the Fiesta, Cotton, Holiday, Tangerine, Citrus, Copper, Aloha, Liberty, Freedom, All-America and Motor City bowls. In addition, Edwards finished his career with a 126-29-1 (.811) record against Mountain West Conference opponents.

Edwards' teams passed for more than 57 miles during his 29-year career. He coached two Outland Trophy winners, four Davey O'Brien Trophy winners, 35 All-Americans, 11 conference Player of the Year recipients, 32 Academic All-Americans and led the Cougars to seven NCAA single-season passing titles.

Edwards' impact on the coaching world will continue long after he has left the coaching limelight. His former assistant coaches and players are now making their mark on the game. Seattle Seahawks head coach and general manager Mike Holmgren got his first big break as quarterbacks coach at BYU under Edwards. Current NFL head coaches Brian Billick (Baltimore Ravens) and Andy Reid (Philadelphia Eagles) played for the Cougars during the Edwards era.

The eighth of 14 children, Edwards graduated from Utah State University, where he earned all-conference honors before serving a two-year commitment in the Army. He began his full-time coaching career at Granite High School in Salt Lake City, where he coached for eight years before moving to BYU.

Edwards and his wife, Patti, are currently serving an 18-month Mormon church mission in New York City.

The Award: The Amos Alonzo Stagg Award is given to the "individual, group or institution whose services have been outstanding in the advancement of the best interests of football." Its purpose is "to perpetuate the example and influence of Amos Alonzo Stagg."

The award is named in honor of a man who was instrumental in founding the AFCA in the 1920s. He is considered one of the great innovators and motivating forces in the early development of the game of football. The plaque given to each recipient is a replica of the one given to Stagg at the 1939 AFCA Convention in tribute to his 50 years of service to football.

Amos Alonzo Stagg: Amos Alonzo Stagg began his coaching career at the School of Christian Workers, now Springfield (Mass.) College, after graduating from Yale University in 1888.

Stagg also served as head coach at Chicago (1892-1932) and College of the Pacific (1933-1946). His 41 seasons at Chicago is one of the longest head coaching tenures in the history of the college game.

Among the innovations credited to Stagg are the tackling dummy, the huddle, the reverse play, man in motion, knit pants, numbering plays and players, and the awarding of letters.

A long-time AFCA member, Stagg was the Association's 1943 Coach of the Year.

According to NCAA records, Stagg's 57-year record as a college head coach is 314-199-35. He was 84 years old when he ended his coaching career at Pacific in 1946. He died in 1965 at the age of 103.

Previous Stagg Award Winners
1940 Donald Herring, Jr., (Princeton player) and family 
1941 William H. Cowell (posthumously), New Hampshire 
1946 Grantland Rice, sportswriter 
1947 William A. Alexander, Georgia Tech 
1948 Gilmour Dobie, North Dakota State, Washington, Navy, Cornell, Boston 
College; Glenn S. "Pop" Warner, Georgia, Cornell, Carlisle, Pittsburgh, 
Stanford, Temple & Robert C. Zuppke, Illinois 
1949 Richard C. Harlow, Penn State, Colgate, Western Maryland, Harvard 
1950 No award given 
1951 DeOrmond "Tuss" McLaughry, Westminster, Amherst, Brown, Dartmouth 
1952 A.N. "Bo" McMillin, Indiana 
1953 Lou Little, Georgetown, Columbia 
1954 Dana X. Bible, Mississippi College, LSU, Texas A&M, Nebraska, Texas 
1955 Joseph J. Tomlin, founder, Pop Warner Football 
1956 No award given 
1957 Gen. Robert R. Neyland, Tennessee 
1958 Bernie Bierman, Mississippi A&M, Tulane, Minnesota 
1959 Dr. John W. Wilce, Ohio State 
1960 Harvey J. Harman, Haverford, University of the South, Pennsylvania, 
Rutgers 
1961 Ray Eliot, Illinois 
1962 E.E. "Tad" Wieman, Michigan, Princeton, Maine 
1963 Andrew Kerr, Stanford, Washington & Jefferson, Colgate, Lebanon Valley 
1964 Don Faurot, Missouri 
1965 Harry Stuhldreher, Wisconsin 
1966 Bernie H. Moore, LSU 
1967 Jess Neely, Southwestern, Clemson, Rice 
1968 Abe Martin, TCU 
1969 Charles A. "Rip" Engle, Brown, Penn State 
1970 Lynn "Pappy" Waldorf, Syracuse, Oklahoma City, Kansas, Oklahoma A&M, 
Kansas State, Northwestern, California 
1971 Bill Murray, Delaware, Duke 
1972 Jack Curtice, Stanford 
1973 Lloyd Jordan, Amherst, Harvard 
1974 Alonzo S. "Jake" Gaither, Florida A&M 
1975 Gerald B. Zornow, business executive 
1976 No award given 
1977 Floyd "Ben" Schwartzwalder, Muhlenberg, Syracuse 
1978 Tom Hamilton, Navy, Pittsburgh 
1979 H.O. "Fritz" Crisler, Minnesota, Princeton, Michigan 
1980 No award given 
1981 Fred Russell, sportswriter 
1982 Eddie Robinson, Grambling 
1983 Paul W. "Bear" Bryant, Maryland, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Alabama 
1984 Charles B. "Bud" Wilkinson, Oklahoma 
1985 Duffy Daugherty, Michigan State 
1986 Woody Hayes, Denison, Miami (Ohio), Ohio State 
1987 Field Scovell, Cotton Bowl 
1988 G. Herbert McCracken, Allegheny, Lafayette 
1989 David Nelson, Delaware 
1990 Len Casanova, Oregon
1991 Bob Blackman, Denver, Dartmouth, Illinois, Cornell
1992 Charles McClendon, LSU
1993 Keith Jackson, ABC-TV
1994 Bob Devaney, Nebraska, Wyoming
1995 John Merritt, Jackson State, Tennessee State
1996 Chuck Neinas, College Football Association
1997 Ara Parseghian, Miami (Ohio), Northwestern, Notre Dame
1998 Bob Reade, Augustana (Ill.)
1999 Bo Schembechler, Miami (Ohio), Michigan
2000 Tom Osborne, Nebraska
2001 Vince Dooley, Georgia
2002 Joe Paterno, Penn State