Dec. 7, 2008

EVANSTON, Ill. -- In his third season at the helm, Northwestern head coach Pat Fitzgerald has been named the Big Ten Coach of the Year by the Touchdown Club of Columbus. Fitzgerald guided NU to its first bowl berth since 2005 while helping the Wildcats become just the fifth team in school history to win nine games and the first since 1996 when Fitzgerald was the team’s star linebacker.

“This is a tremendous honor for me and there is no question that all the credit belongs to our fantastic coaching staff and group of young men,” Fitzgerald said. “Each and every member of our program worked tirelessly this season to put ourselves in a position to be successful and I’m proud to accept this award from the Touchdown Club of Columbus on our entire team’s behalf.”

The Touchdown Club of Columbus was established in 1956 and annually recognizes the best that the Big Ten and the country have to offer in football and many other sports. Award-winning athletes and coaches are selected each year by the Touchdown Club’s committees consisting of coaches, sports writers and former players.

A year ago, the Big Ten Coach of the Year award as presented by the Touchdown Club went to Ron Zook of Illinois.

For the second consecutive season, the 34-year-old Fitzgerald oversaw a program that improved on the previous year’s win total. In 2008, Northwestern jumped out to a 5-0 start for the first time since 1962 and never looked back, closing the season with its first defeat of Michigan since 2000 and its convincing defeat of instate rival Illinois in consecutive weeks.

On Tuesday, Dec. 9, Fitzgerald will be in New York for his official induction into the College Football Hall of Fame for his accomplishments as a player while leading Northwestern to back-to-back Big Ten Championships.

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