Chick Fil-a Bowl Release
ATLANTA (Dec. 17, 2025) – Officials from the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Peach Bowl, Inc. announced the five finalists for the 2025 Dodd Trophy Presented by PNC Bank: Curt Cignetti (Indiana), Ryan Day (Ohio State), Clark Lea (Vanderbilt), Joey McGuire (Texas Tech) and Kirby Smart (Georgia).
Managed by Peach Bowl, Inc. and presented by PNC Bank, The Dodd Trophy, college football’s most coveted national coaching award, celebrates the head coach of a team who enjoys success on the gridiron, while also stressing the importance of scholarship, leadership and integrity – the three pillars of legendary coach Bobby Dodd’s coaching philosophy. Now celebrating its 50th anniversary this season, the award was established to honor the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division 1A) head football coach whose program represents the highest ideals on and off the field.
Finalists were selected by a panel consisting of all previous winners, national media, a member of the Dodd family and a College Football Hall of Fame member, taking into consideration each program’s graduation rate, Graduation Success Rate (GSR), commitment to service and charity in the community, on-field success thus far for the 2025 season and Academic Progress Rate (APR).
Considering The Dodd Trophy represents more than just a coach’s performance on the field, a coach in his first year, who has not had a full season to establish his own impact on APR and the local community, is not eligible to win.
This year’s finalists represent three different conferences, with coaches from the Big 12, Big Ten and SEC all being recognized.
These coaches have combined for a 59-5 record so far this season and have collectively won 403 games, 12 conference titles and three CFP National Championships throughout their collegiate head coaching careers.
The 2025 Dodd Trophy Presented by PNC Bank Finalists:
| Coach | School | Conference | CFP Ranking | Record |
| FIRST YEAR COACHES INELIGIBLE DUE TO LACK OF APR AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT | ||||
| Curt Cignetti | Indiana | Big Ten | 1 | 13-0 |
| Ryan Day | Ohio State | Big Ten | 2 | 12-1 |
| Clark Lea | Vanderbilt | SEC | 14 | 10-2 |
| Joey McGuire | Texas Tech | Big 12 | 4 | 12-1 |
| Kirby Smart | Georgia | SEC | 3 | 12-1 |
This marks Kirby Smart’s third selection as a finalist (2018, 2022), while Curt Cignetti, Ryan Day, Clark Lea and Joey McGuire are all making their first appearance on the finalist list. Two of the finalists – Cignetti (Big Ten) and Lea (SEC) – won their respective conference’s coach of the year awards this season, while Cignetti, McGuire and Smart also won their conference championships earlier this month.
“Even as our sport evolves, Coach Dodd’s three pillars of scholarship, leadership and integrity continue to stand the test of time,” said Chairman of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation Jim Terry. “Each of these five finalists have adapted to recent changes in college football, but have still built a foundation based on these three guiding principles. As a result, they’ve inherently been able to successfully lead their respective programs, both on and off the field.”
“In what has been another remarkable college football season, these five coaches stood out among the rest,” said Gary Stokan, Peach Bowl, Inc. CEO and president. “This year’s finalists have succeeded at the highest level with their student-athletes on the football field, in the classroom and throughout their communities. We’re honored to recognize all that they have accomplished this season and congratulate them for personifying everything this award represents. Maybe we’ll even have the opportunity to host a couple of these finalists down the road in our College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.”
The winner of the 2025 Dodd Trophy Presented by PNC Bank will be announced in Atlanta during bowl week at this year’s College Football Playoff Semifinal at Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.