UNC Football: Brown named to Dodd Trophy Preseason Watch List

The UNC football program’s leader is among 21 college football coaches to earn a spot on this year’s preseason watch list. 

The Dodd Trophy, college football’s most coveted national coaching award, celebrates the head coach of a team who enjoys success both on and off the gridiron.

While winning on the field is important, the importance of scholarship, leadership, and integrity are also pillars of this award, as they signify some of the main philosophies of legendary coach Bobby Dodd.

Mack Brown, the head coach of the UNC football program, is no stranger to this coveted national coaching award, as he was the recipient back in 2008. This year, Brown headlines a list of 21 coaches that were named to the 2023 Dodd Trophy Preseason Watch List.

The watch list was created through a selection process by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Peach Bowl, Inc. While going through the selection process, the committee takes into consideration each program’s graduation rate, Graduation Success Rate, commitment to service, and charity in the community, Academic Progress Rate as well as projected success for the 2023 season.

Academic Progress Rate (APR) is a major factor in this list, as coaches who made the list were required to have a 980 APR or higher.

Since returning to Chapel Hill for his second stint as the program’s head coach, Brown has helped the program produce the three highest single-year APR rates over the last three seasons (984 in 2021-22, 1,000 in 2020-21, and 997 in 2019-20) and the program’s highest-ever multi-year APR rate at 982.

According to the GoHeels official press release, Brown’s players have earned the highest annual GPAs in over a decade leading to 97 UNC football players earning their degrees over the last four years.

Mack Brown is a legendary coach with a hall-of-fame resume on the field, but he’s also been a tremendous leader to develop his student-athletes both athletically and academically. It’s no surprise to see Brown land on this list once again, as he continues to be one of the most influential coaches that the sport of college football has ever seen.

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