2006 Big Ten Coach of the year, Bret Bielema, has been named one of five finalists for the Paul "Bear" Bryant College Football Coach of the Year Award.
The other four finalists are Michigan's Lloyd Carr, Boise State's Chris Peterson, Rutgers' Greg Schiano and Oklahoma's Bob Stoops.
The winner will be chosen by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (NSSA) and named live at an award dinner benefiting the American Heart Association on Thursday, Jan. 11 at the Hilton Americas Hotel in downtown Houston.
Bielema is the second youngest head coach in the nation. He guided the Wisconsin Badgers to their first 11-win regular season in 2006. UW is 11-1 and ranked fifth in the USA Today coaches poll and sixth in the A.P. Top 25. He's the first rookie head coach in Big Ten history to guide his team to at least 10 victories and is one of just seven coaches in NCAA Division 1A history to pilot his squad to 11 wins.