Dec. 29, 2007

DeKALB, Ill. -- Jerry Kill, who was named Northern Illinois' 20th head football coach on December 13, Saturday earned the 2007 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award for the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) for his efforts on and off the field while the head coach at Southern Illinois University. The Coach of the Year winners in each of the NCAA's four divisions were announced Saturday in a national television broadcast on ABC.

Kill earned the honor after leading SIU to a 12-2 record and a spot in the 2007 FCS semifinals. The Salukis qualified for the playoffs every year from 2003-2007 under Kill, who earned the honor over fellow finalists The Citadel's Kevin Higgins, Northern Iowa's Mark Farley, South Dakota State's John Stiegelmeier and Morehead State University's Matt Ballard.

"The last month has been like a dream come true for me," Kill said. "From the playoff run we made at SIU, to being hired as football coach at Northern Illinois to finding out I had been named the Coach of the Year, it has just been a dream. It's a tremendous honor and just like anything in this game, it is a team honor. It belongs to the staff and to everyone we worked with at Southern Illinois. I have tremendously loyal assistants and none of this would happen without them."

Northern Illinois Associate Vice President and Director of Athletics Dr. Jim Phillips offered his congratulations to Kill on the well-deserved honor.

"Sincere congratulations to Coach Kill and his staff on this prestigious award," Phillips said. "To be certain, it is a true reflection of his deep commitment to the student-athlete experience athletically, socially and academically. We are extremely proud of him and look forward to an extremely bright future for Northern Illinois Football."

The Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year is awarded to the college football coach who best demonstrates responsibility, integrity, and excellence on and off the field. Team records, player statistics, and community involvement are just a few of the criteria reviewed during the selection process. Winners are determined by a combination of fan voting (20%), media vote (25%) and a selection committee composed of members of the College Football Hall of Fame (55%).

Kill discussed the importance of teaching and coaching excellence on and off the field.

"I was taught a long time ago that if you don't win with class, it doesn't matter much," Kill said. "That is why we have taught our players to win with class and to do things the right way. Our staff has worked hard to make sure that is happening. A friend of mine told me long ago, they are not going to put your won-loss record on your tombstone.

"To me, the true evaluation of how we have done comes four or five years after the player graduates, when he is out in society doing the right thing, earning a good living and making a success of himself. You can't promise a parent that someone is going to the NFL, you can promise that they will be better people when they leave and that's what we try to do as football coaches."

In addition to a trophy and a display honoring the 2007 winners at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., Liberty Mutual will donate $20,000 to the SIU Alumni Association and $50,000 to the Coach Kill Cancer Fund.

"The timing of everything this month has just been amazing and to have this top it off, well, again, I am just very grateful," Kill said. "I'm especially happy about the donation to our Cancer Fund because when we left [SIU] everyone wanted to know what will happen with that and this comes at a great time. Again, it's a great team honor and I'm very glad to be a part of it."

Other Coach of the Year Award winners for 2007 included Illinois' Ron Zook (FBS), Chadron State's Bill O'Boyle (II) and St. John's University's John Gagliardi (III). For more information on the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year honor, go to www.coachoftheyear.com.

-- NIU --