Officials of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation announced during halftime of the Chick-fil-A Bowl that University of Michigan Head Football Coach Lloyd Carr was unanimously selected as the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year for 2007.

“All of us associated with the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation are thrilled at the selection of Coach Carr for this prestigious honor,” said Jim Terry, the Chairman of the Foundation. “Coach Carr has an outstanding reputation, and we respect his leadership on the field, as well as the many accomplishments of his team in the classroom and in life. He definitely fulfills the stringent requirements, which we require for the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award. Congratulations, Coach Carr. And, congratulations to the entire University of Michigan football program.”

The annual Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year winner is determined by a vote from all previous winners of the award, plus a vote from a blue-ribbon panel made up from the “who’s who” in college football.

Coach Carr has a record of 121-41, which includes a win in the Capital One Bowl on January 1, 2008. Under Carr, the Wolverines won or shared five Big Ten titles (in 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003 and 2004) and his 1997 team was declared the Associated Press national champion. On November 19, 2007, Carr announced he was retiring from his head coaching position following the Capital One Bowl game.

The Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation Award was established in 1976 to honor the NCAA Division 1 football coach whose program represents the highest ideals on and off the field. The Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award honors the coach of a team which enjoys a successful football season, while also stressing the importance of academic excellence and character, as did Coach Dodd’s teams during his 22 years as head football coach of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Coach Dodd remains one of college football’s legendary figures, both as a coach and a player. Coach Dodd was a native of Galax, Virginia, he played his college ball at the University of Tennessee, where his team had 27 wins, one loss and two ties during the three years he played. Coach Dodd was selected to the National College Football Hall of Fame both as a coach and as a player.