Wisconsin football coach Bret Bielema is one of 15 finalists for the inaugural Joe Paterno Award for coach of the year.
Bielema has led the Badgers to an 8-1 record this season, in a tie for first place in the Big Ten standings and a No. 7 ranking in the latest BCS standings. Wisconsin has wins over No. 1 Ohio State and No. 13 Iowa in back-t0-back weeks earlier this season and is one of only two teams in the country to have posted wins over teams currently ranked in the top 15 of the BCS standings.
Three finalists for the award will be announced on Monday, Dec. 6.
