COLBY CARTHEL - FOOTBALL COACH OF THE YEAR 2017
Colby Carthel - Texas A&M Commerce
Why Honored: After entering the playoffs as a No. 4-seed in the NCAA Division II Super Four Region, Carthel and his 2017 team went on to a five-game playoff winning streak all the way to a NCAA Division II national championship, the first ever in the program's history.
In five seasons with the Lions, Carthel totaled a record with over 45 wins and 3 Lone Star Conference Championships.
Quotable: "This is a tremendous honor for the staff and our program. It's our first coaching honor for our program, so it's a tribute to our coaches over the past five years. It was a heck of an accomplishment to turn this program around. It was a lot of hard work by our staff from 2013 to now. The playoff run was special. The teams we beat were 34-1 combined leading to the semifinals. It was the toughest run to the semifinals in NCAA history. Then to play at home and it was standing room only against Harding was awesome. We had a story book ending."
- Carthel
