Hauck a Finalist for FCS Coach of the Year

For the third time in his illustrious career, Montana's record-setting head coach Bobby Hauck has been named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award, presented annually to the FCS national Coach of the Year, Stats Perform announced Monday.

Hauck, who recently became the winningest coach in both overall and league wins in Big Sky Conference history and is one of the top 10 winningest active coaches in all D-I football, was one of 15 finalists for the 2025 Robinson Award. He was also a finalist in 2009 and 2023.

The award, first presented in 1987 and in its 39th season, is named for legendary Grambling State coach Eddie Robinson. Past recipients include Mark Duffner, Erk Russell, Chris Ault, Jim Tressel, Houston Nutt, Andy Talley, Paul Johnson, Joe Glenn, Mike Ayers, Jerry Kill, Jerry Moore, K.C. Keeler, Deion Sanders, John Stiegelmeier, and two-time recipients Mickey Matthews, Sean McDonnell and Craig Bohl.

All 13 FCS leagues are represented by an Eddie Robinson Award finalist. The winner, to be selected by a national voting panel, will be announced on Dec. 4 and honored at the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Show on Jan. 3 in Nashville, Tennessee.

Hauck led a Grizzly squad picked to finish third in the preseason Big Sky Coaches' Poll and was pegged No. 7/9 in the preseason polls to an 11-1 regular season that saw UM rattle off 11-straight wins and earn the No. 3 seed in the FCS Playoffs.

The 2025 Grizzlies returned zero starters on defense and just 25 lettermen from a year ago, with a sophomore first-year starting quarterback and 63 of the team's 107 total players listed as underclassmen and six underclassmen with four or more starts. Hauck guided them to a top three national ranking for the last five weeks of the regular season and was one of just four teams in UM history to start the year 11-0.

Hauck is now 149-42 overall and 86-23 in two terms as the Grizzlies' head coach. His win percentage in conference games of .788 is the best percentage of the top 10 winningest coaches in league history, meaning year-over-year he's won more games than any other coach in a shorter amount of time.

His 149 wins at Montana make him the second-winningest active FCS head coach and one of the top 10 winningest active coaches overall in D-I football, along with notable mentors like Kirk Ferentz of Iowa, Dabo Swinney at Clemson and Kyle Wittingham at Utah. He's also one of the top five winningest coaches in all D-I football at his current school.

He's an eight-time Big Sky Conference champion and enters the 2025 FCS playoffs having won 18 postseason games at Montana, currently the third most in tournament history.

2025 Eddie Robinson Award Finalists

Andrew Aurich, Harvard (Ivy League)
Season: Second; Team Record: 9-1, 6-1 Ivy (Tie/1st); Notable: Playoff-bound Crimson reached program-high No. 7 national ranking

Travis Bush, UT Rio Grande Valley (Southland Conference)
Season: First; Team Record: 9-3, 5-3 Southland (Tie/3rd); Notable: Won nine times as FCS start-up program

Kevin Cahill, Lehigh (Patriot League)
Season: Third; Team Record: 12-0, 7-0 Lehigh (1st); Notable: No. 5 playoff seed is 12-0 for first time since 2000

Colby Carthel, Stephen F. Austin (Southland Conference)
Season: Seventh; Team Record: 10-2, 8-0 Southland (1st); Notable: No. 7 playoff seed is riding first-ever same-season 10-game winning streak

Steve Englehart, Presbyterian (Pioneer Football League)
Season: Fourth; Team Record: 10-2, 6-2 Pioneer (Tie/2nd); Notable: Blue Hose achieved first national ranking on FCS level

Jim Fleming, Rhode Island (CAA Football)
Season: 12th; Team Record: 10-2, 8-0 CAA (1st); Notable: Rams collected first outright conference title since 1985

Bobby Hauck, Montana (Big Sky Conference)
Season: 14th (two stints); Team Record: 11-1, 7-1 (2nd); Notable: No. 3 playoff seed didn't return a defensive starter, opened with 11-0 mark

DeSean Jackson, Delaware State (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference)
Season: First; Team Record: 8-4, 4-1 MEAC (2nd); Notable: Hornets posted an FCS-best seven-win improvement from 2024

Tremaine Jackson, Prairie View A&M (Southwestern Athletic Conference)
Season: First; Team Record: 9-3, 7-1 SWAC West (1st); Notable: SWAC West champ has nine wins for first time since 2009 season

Mike Jacobs, Mercer (Southern Conference)
Season: Second; Team Record: 9-2, 8-0 SoCon (1st); Notable: No. 6 playoff seed is SoCon's first back-to-back outright champion since 2009

Adam Lechtenberg, Central Connecticut State (NEC Football)
Season: Third; Team Record: 8-4, 6-1 (1st); Notable: CCSU returning to playoffs after capturing NEC-leading eighth championship

Tim Polasek, North Dakota State (Missouri Valley Football Conference)
Season: Second; Team Record: 12-0, 8-0 MVFC (1st); Notable: Bison have been top-ranked since preseason, are No. 1 playoff seed

Joel Taylor, West Georgia (United Athletic Conference)
Season: Second; Team Record: 8-3, 5-3 (4th); Notable: Wolves doubled last year's four wins in second FCS season

Todd Whitten, Tarleton State (United Athletic Conference)
Season: 18th (two stints); Team Record: 11-1, 7-1 UAC (Tie/1st); Notable: No. 4 playoff seed one of four FCS teams to beat an FBS opponent (Army)

Bobby Wilder, Tennessee Tech (OVC-Big South Football Association)
Season: Second; Team Record: 11-1/8-0 OVC-Big South (1st); Notable: Golden Eagles opened 10-0 for first time in program history

Also this season, the Walter Payton Award (FCS Offensive Player of the Year), Buck Buchanan Award (FCS Defensive Player of the Year), Jerry Rice Award (FCS Freshman Player of the Year), HBCU National Player of the Year and Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete of the Year will be presented at the Stats Perform National Awards Show.

University of Montana Athletics

Related News

Related Videos