UM’s Mark Richt wins ACC Coach of the Year

UM Coach Mark Richt guided the Hurricanes to key wins over Florida State, No. 13 Virginia Tech and No. 3 Notre Dame in 2017. Photo credit: Josh White
Mark Richt
UM Coach Mark Richt guided the Hurricanes to key wins over Florida State, No. 13 Virginia Tech and No. 3 Notre Dame in 2017. Photo credit: Josh White

Mark Richt is having a historic year, and now he is getting the recognition.

In just his second season as the head football coach of the University of Miami, Richt was named the 2017 ACC Coach of the Year on Tuesday, Nov. 28. He received 41 of the possible 59 votes. Clemson’s Dabo Swinney was the runner-up with 10 votes.

Richt, who is in his 17th year as a head coach, led his alma mater to its first ever Coastal Division title with a regular season record of 10-1 and 7-1 in the conference. Miami joined the ACC in 2004.

The 10 wins are the most for UM since 2003, and up until its loss to Pittsburgh last weekend, Miami had won an FBS-leading 15-straight games dating back to last season – the fifth-longest in league history.

The Hurricanes were ranked as high as No. 2 in the College Football Playoff rankings this season – their highest placement in the poll since its introduction in 2014. They also reached the No. 2 spot in the AP Top 25 poll, which is the school’s highest placement since 2003.

Richt holds a record of 19-5 since coming to Miami in 2015, good enough for the third-best start in program history.

Miami is set to play in its first ACC Championship Game against No. 1-ranked Clemson at 8 p.m. Dec. 2 in Charlottle, North Carolina. Many presume the winner of the game will be given the nod as one of the four teams selected to compete in the College Football Playoff.