Walt Harris Honored by the American Football Coaches Association
12/5/2002 12:00:00 AM | Football
Walt Harris Honored by the American Football Coaches Association
12/5/2002
Harris has led Pittsburgh to its third straight postseason appearance as the Panthers will play in the Insight Bowl on Dec. 26 in Phoenix. |
University of Pittsburgh head coach Walt Harris, who directed the Panthers to their third consecutive bowl berth this season, has been named the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Region 1 Coach of the Year.
The AFCA recognizes five regional Coach-of-the-Year winners for NCAA Division I-A. The winners are selected by active AFCA members who vote for coaches within their respective regions. Region I includes the Big East and Atlantic Coast Conference.
The AFCA will announce its Division I-A National Coach of the Year at the 2003 AFCA Convention in New Orleans. All head coaches who were eligible for regional honors are eligible for national honors as well.
Under Harris? direction, Pittsburgh earned its first national rankings since 1991 this season. The Panthers, who finished the regular season with an 8-4 mark, are ranked No. 24 in the USA Today/ESPN poll and 25th in the Associated Press poll.
Pittsburgh accepted an invitation to play in the 2002 Insight Bowl, marking its third straight postseason appearance and fourth in the last six years. It is the program?s best postseason stretch since advancing to nine consecutive bowls from 1975-83. Before Harris? arrival in 1997, Pittsburgh had been to just one bowl in the prior nine years.
The Panthers? eight victories this year are their most since the 1989 season. Pittsburgh?s 5-2 Big East mark is its best ever. Among the regular-season highlights was a 28-21 win over unbeaten Virginia Tech, ranked No. 3 at the time, in Blacksburg. It was the highest ranked team Pittsburgh had defeated in 20 years.
Pittsburgh?s four losses were by a combined 24 points, an average of six points per game.
The Panthers will face a to-be-determined Pac-10 opponent in the Insight Bowl, which will be played Dec. 26 in Phoenix, Ariz. The game will be nationally televised by ESPN and kick off at 8 p.m. (EST).
Tickets for the Insight Bowl cost $52 and may be purchased by calling the Panthers? ticket office at (800) 643-PITT or (412) 648-PITT. Purchases can also be made via the Internet at www.pittsburghpanthers.com. University of Pittsburgh students can reserve a complimentary ticket at the Petersen Events Center.