DALLAS – After leading his team to an East Division title and a school-record fourth consecutive bowl appearance, Middle Tennessee head coach Rick Stockstill has been named Conference USA Coach of the Year, as voted on by the league’s 14 head coaches.

2018 Football Coach of Year Release
 
For a program-record third time, Stockstill has been named a conference Coach of the Year.  It’s the first time the 13-year Blue Raider football coach has won Coach of the Year in C-USA after winning it twice in the Sun Belt Conference (2006 and co-COY in 2009).
 
Stockstill has led MT to an 8-5 record this season with a bowl game left against Appalachian State. The Blue Raiders also played in and hosted the C-USA Championship game for the first time.  Middle Tennessee was picked by conference media members in the preseason to finish third in the East Division, but it defied those odds by finishing with a 7-1 league record and its first division title.
 
Middle Tennessee has been bowl-eligible 10 times in 13 seasons during Stockstill’s tenure.  The Blue Raiders will take on Appalachian State in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl on Dec. 15 at the Mercedes Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
 
Under Stockstill’s tutelage, Middle Tennessee placed six players on the C-USA All-Conference teams, including four first team selections.  The Blue Raiders also produced their first C-USA Most Valuable Player in graduate QB Brent Stockstill, who leads the conference in completions (301) and touchdown passes (28) this season, ranking fourth in the FBS in completion percentage (70.5) and 15^th nationally with 3,214 passing yards.
 
The Stockstills’ complete the very rare accomplishment of a father and son winning an FBS conference Coach of the Year and Player of the Year honor in the same season (Jim and Kevin Sweeney of Fresno State won the honors in 1985).  It marks the second time in C-USA history that a father and son won Coach and Player of the Year in any sport, as Daron and Erik Schoenrock accomplished the feat in baseball in 2013.
 
This marks the 10th consecutive year that a coach that reached the C-USA Championship Game was honored as the league’s Coach of the Year.