The AFCA?recognizes five regional Coach of the Year winners in each of the Association's five divisions:?Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III and NAIA. The winners are selected by Active members of the Association who vote for coaches in their respective regions and divisions.

The 2011 Regional Coach of the Year winners will be recognized at the AFCA?Coach of the Year Dinner at the 2012 AFCA?Convention in San Antonio, Texas. The dinner is scheduled for Tuesday, January 10.

In his seventh year as head coach, Miles has guided LSU to a 13-0 record, the Southeastern Conference title, a No. 1 ranking in the BCS standings and a spot in the BCS National Championship game. Miles is looking to guide LSU to its third BCS National Championship in 2011.

Roberts earned his first Regional Coach of the Year Award by leading Delta State to a 11-2 record, the Gulf South Conference title and an appearance in the NCAA Division II semifinals. Roberts is looking to lead Delta State to its second national title after finishing as runner-up in 2010. He is 47-15 in his five seasons as head coach, including four GSC championships, two NCAA Super Region II titles and four trips to the NCAA playoffs. 

Award History: The AFCA began recognizing district coaches of the year following the 1960 season. The awards were established the same year Eastman Kodak agreed to sponsor the AFCA Coach of the Year award. Prior to 1960, the Scripps-Howard newspaper chain had sponsored the program, which recognized one national Coach of the Year.

The AFCA first recognized eight district winners in each of two divisions:?university and college. In 1972, a ninth district was added in each division.

In 1983, the award was changed to recognize regional winners instead of district winners, and the number of divisions was increased from two to four, and five regional winners were selected in each division. This resulted in a more equitable selection process and better represented the make-up of the membership. At the same time, the new system increased the number of honorees from 18 to 20.

In 2006, the AFCA?Division II?Award was split into separate Division II?and NAIA divisions, giving us the 25 winners we now recognize.

2011 AFCA Regional Coach of the Year Winners
Football Bowl Subdivision
Region 1: Dabo Swinney, Clemson University
Region 2: Les Miles, Louisiana State University
Region 3: Kevin Sumlin, University of Houston
Region 4: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State University
Region 5: David Shaw, Stanford University

Football Championship Subdivision
Region 1: Rob Ambrose, Towson University
Region 2: Jeff Monken, Georgia Southern University
Region 3: Dean Hood, Eastern Kentucky University
Region 4: Craig Bohl, North Dakota State University
Region 5: Willie Fritz, Sam Houston State University

Division II
Region 1: Raymond Monica, Kutztown University
Region 2: Ron Roberts, Delta State University
Region 3: Keith Otterbein, Hillsdale College
Region 4: Bill Maskill, Midwestern State University
Region 5: John Wristen, Colorado State University-Pueblo

Division III
Region 1: Sherman Wood, Salisbury University
Region 2: Jim Margraff, Johns Hopkins University
Region 3: Steve Mohr, Trinity University (Texas)
Region 4: Larry Kehres, University of Mount Union
Region 5: Stan Zweifel, University of Dubuque

NAIA
Region 1: Bill Cronin, Georgetown College (Ky.) & Chris Oliver, Lindsey Wilson College (tie)
Region 2: Ted Karras, Jr., Marian University (Ind.)
Region 3: Jonathan Quinn, MidAmerica Nazarene University
Region 4: Matt Franzen, Doane College & Steve Ryan, Morningside College (tie)
Region 5: Mike Cochran, Southern Nazarene University