BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana head football coach Tom Allen is one of 19 head coaches selected to the midseason watch list for the 2020 Dodd Trophy, announced by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Thursday afternoon. Allen was named to the 2020 American Heart Association Paul “Bear” Bryant Award Watch List on Tuesday.

The Dodd Trophy, college football’s most coveted 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 philosophy.

Allen has the Hoosiers sitting atop the Big Ten East with a perfect 4-0 record. Below are some of the program’s notable 2020 achievements:

•IU sits in the Top 10 in both national polls for the second-straight week and is ranked for the fourth-consecutive week, coming in at No. 9 in the Associated Press Top 25 and at No. 10 in the Amway Coaches Poll presented by USA Today Sports.
•Indiana earned its first Top-10 ranking in the AP Poll since Sept. 22, 1969 (No. 10), and its current ranking is its best in the AP Poll since Nov. 27, 1967 (No. 4).
•The Hoosiers were last ranked in the Top 10 in back-to-back weeks in 1967 (Nov. 6, Nov. 13) and this is their 17th Top-10 rating.
•IU is 4-0 for the first time since 2015 (4-0) and the seventh time in school history (1990, 4-0; 1986, 4-0; 1985, 4-0; 1967, 8-0; 1910, 5-0). It is 4-0 to start Big Ten play for the third time overall (1987, 4-0; 1967, 5-0).
•Indiana has won a program-record-tying five-straight B1G games (1967) and nine of its last 11, its most successful stretch in conference games since a 9-2 mark from Oct. 3, 1987-Oct. 21, 1988.
•The Hoosiers have won three-straight Big Ten road games for the first time since 1982 and have earned victories in their first two league games away from home for the first time since 1993.
•IU defeated Michigan State, 24-0, last weekend to reclaim the Old Brass Spittoon for the first time since 2016 and earn its first victory in East Lansing since 2001.
•Indiana’s 38-21 victory over No. 23 Michigan was its first over the Wolverines since Oct. 24, 1987 (14-10).
•The Hoosiers 36-35, overtime win against No. 8 Penn State in the season opener was the sixth against a Top-10 opponent in school history, with the last coming at No. 9 Ohio State (31-10) on Oct. 10, 1987.
•It marked IU’s first Top-10 victory at Memorial Stadium since Nov. 25, 1967 (No. 3 Purdue, 19-14).
•Indiana has defeated PSU, U-M and MSU in the same season for the first time in program history and beaten the Wolverines and Spartans in the same year for the first time since 1967.
•Indiana has defeated two ranked teams for the sixth time in school history and for the first time since 2004. The 1945 team holds the program record with three ranked wins in one year.

The midseason watch list was created through a selection process by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, taking into consideration each program’s Academic Progress Rate (APR), current performance during the 2020 season and each coach’s commitment to service and charity in the community.

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.

“It’s been an unprecedented season so far this year and we had to consider a variety of factors when compiling this list,” said Jim Terry, chairman of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation. “At the end of the day, we selected the coaches who we felt truly embody Bobby Dodd’s three pillars of scholarship, leadership and integrity, both on and off the football field.”

Of the 19 coaches on the midseason watch list, the SEC leads the way with five coaches selected, immediately followed by the Big Ten and Big 12 with four each, the ACC with three, the Pac-12 with two and the American with one. A total of nine coaches on the list remain undefeated going into the 12th week of the season.

This year’s midseason watch list includes three former winners of The Dodd Trophy with Brian Kelly (2018), Nick Saban (2014) and Dabo Swinney (2011) all making the list.

The coaches on the list have collectively appeared in the College Football Playoff 17 times, and have won a total of nine national championships and 27 FBS conference championships. Off the football field and in the classroom, their teams earned an average Academic Progress Rate (APR) of 977 last year.

“The Dodd Trophy is unique from other coach of the year awards considering it looks beyond just wins and losses on the football field,” said Gary Stokan, Peach Bowl, Inc. CEO & president. “Each of these coaches have had successful seasons to date, but what sets them apart is how they’ve empowered their players in the classroom and impacted their communities in a positive way. All of these coaches on the watch list are strong contenders for this year’s Dodd Trophy and we look forward to seeing who emerges as finalists this last month of the season.”

A panel consisting of previous winners, national media, a member of the Dodd family and a College Football Hall of Fame member will identify the final list of potential recipients at the conclusion of the 2020 season. The winner of the 2020 Dodd Trophy will be announced in Atlanta during the week of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.

COURTESY INDIANA ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS