Dec. 6, 2016 Navy head football coach
Ken Niumatalolo was named the American Football Coaches Association Region 1 Coach of the Year and is one of five finalists for the AFCA National Coach of the Year it was announced today by the AFCA.
The other four region winners were Nick Saban of Alabama, P.J. Fleck of Western Michigan, Dana Holgorsen of West Virginia and Mike MacIntyre of Colorado.
The five regional winners will be recognized at the inaugural American Football Coaches Association Awards Show, which will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network on Tuesday, January 10 at 9:00 PM from Nashville, Tenn. The FBS and FCS Coach of the Year will be announced during the show as well.
Niumatalolo led Navy to a 9-3 record in 2016, including a 7-1 mark in the American Athletic Conference. The Mids won the West Division of the AAC and Niumatalolo was named the AAC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive year. The Mids knocked off No. 6 Houston, 46-40, on Oct. 8 for their biggest win of the year and also beat bowl teams Memphis (42-28) and Tulsa (42-40) as well as Notre Dame (28-27).
Navy, ranked 25th by the College Football Playoff Committee, will play Army on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 3 PM in a game that will be televised by CBS. The Mids will play Louisiana Tech on Dec. 23 in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas, which will air on ESPN.
