SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly has been voted Associated Press coach of the year after leading the Fighting Irish to a spot in the BCS championship game.
No. 1 Notre Dame is 12-0 and will play No. 2 Alabama for the national title on Jan. 7 in Miami. The Fighting Irish are playing for their first championship since 1988.
Kelly received 25 votes from the AP college football poll panel. Penn State’s Bill O’Brien was second with 14 votes. Stanford’s David Shaw (four), Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin (three), Kansas State’s Bill Snyder (two) and Alabama’s Nick Saban (one) also received votes.
Kelly is the first Notre Dame coach to win the award, which started in 1998.
