Fritz Receives Coach of the Year Recognition Twice on Tuesday
Dec 6, 2022 | Football
NEW ORLEANS - Tulane University head football coach Willie Fritz was named one of eight finalists for the 2022 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award, as announced by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) in conjunction with the Allstate Sugar Bowl this morning. In a separate release, Fritz also secured a place and was honored as an American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) Regional Coach of the Year in a vote of his peers in the region.
Fritz has had a truly historic and magical 2022 season. He defeated then No. 22 CFP ranked UCF on Saturday by a 45-28 score to capture the school's first-ever American Athletic Conference (AAC) title and earn Tulane its first appearance in a major bowl game since 1940 with the upcoming trip to Arlington, Texas to play in the 87th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. The school's last appearance in a major bowl game was the Sugar Bowl. The win over UCF was his second straight win over a fellow ranked opponent. Overall, this year will be the school's 15th bowl appearance and the fourth time in the last five years that Fritz has led the program to a bowl game. The four bowl appearances under his watch make him the most successful in school history by that metric. Individually he moved into second all-time at Tulane this season in career victories and is up to 42 in his Green Wave career. His program had both the Most Outstanding Offensive Player (Michael Pratt) and the Most Outstanding Defensive Player (Nick Anderson) of the AAC Championship game. He also set a school-record and had the most All-AAC selections in the conference this season this season with 15 plus the league's Offensive Player of the Year (Tyjae Spears).
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Fritz was named the 2022 AAC Coach of the Year for the first time in his career last week. It is also the first time that a Tulane coach ever been named the AAC Coach of the Year and only the second time overall that a Tulane coach has taken home the honor from a conference as Tommy Bowden was named the Conference USA Coach of the Year in 1998. Fritz has led Tulane to an overall 11-2 record including a mark of 7-1 in AAC play. The 11 wins this season is the second time in school history that the program has won 11 or more games and the first time since 1998. His seven wins in league play are the most for the program since 1934 and mark only the second time in the school's history that a Tulane team has won seven or more conference games in a single campaign. Tulane's first nationally ranking this year, eighth weeks ago, was a first for the program since 1998. The program also received its first-ever College Football Playoff Ranking this year and are currently placed 16th nationally in that metric. Tulane's AAC regular season title earned with the victory over Cincinnati on Nov. 25 was only the third in the history of the program and was the first since the Conference USA Championship title in 1998. Fritz led Tulane to its first win over a fellow ranked opponent since 1956 with the victory over then No. 23 ranked Cincinnati. The win over the Bearcats ended their then 32-game home winning streak.
The nine-game win total improvement this over last year is tied for the best-ever in a single season in FBS history along with Stanford (1940), Hawaii (1999) and Miami of Ohio (2010).
The other candidates for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award this season are Sonny Dykes (TCU), Mike Elko (Duke), Jim Harbaugh (Michigan), Lincoln Riley (USC), Kirby Smart (Georgia), Jon Sumrall (Troy) and Jeff Traylor (UTSA).
The winner of the 2022 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award will be officially announced on Jan. 7, 2023 at a reception in Los Angeles.
Fritz was named the winner in region 1 by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). As one of the regional winners, Fritz will be honored on Monday, Jan. 9, during the 2023 AFCA's Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. As a regional winner, he is also now finalist for National Coach of the Year honors. The AFCA recognizes five regional Coach of the Year winners in each of the Association's five divisions: Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III and the NAIA. The winners are selected by active members of the association who vote for coaches in their respective regions and divisions.
2022 AFCA Regional Coach of the Year Winners
Football Bowl Subdivision
Region 1: Willie Fritz, Tulane University
Region 2: Josh Heupel, University of Tennessee
Region 3: Jim Harbaugh, University of Michigan
Region 4: Sonny Dykes, TCU
Region 5: Jonathan Smith, Oregon State University
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TICKETS
Tickets for the 2022 season for men's and women's basketball and baseball can be purchased by calling 504-861-WAVE (9283), logging on to TulaneTix.com or visiting the ticket office at the James W. Wilson Jr. Center.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow Tulane football on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram. Follow Tulane Athletics on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
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WE ARE NOLA BUILT
Tulane University is located in the city of New Orleans. It is a city built on tradition and resiliency. The lessons Green Wave student-athletes have learned through their connection with this university and city have BUILT doctors, lawyers, business leaders, conference champions, all-conference players, All-Americans, professional athletes and NCAA tournament teams. The city of New Orleans has shaped us into who we are today. We are One City. We are Tulane. We are NOLA BUILT. Check out our story at NolaBuilt.com.
Fritz has had a truly historic and magical 2022 season. He defeated then No. 22 CFP ranked UCF on Saturday by a 45-28 score to capture the school's first-ever American Athletic Conference (AAC) title and earn Tulane its first appearance in a major bowl game since 1940 with the upcoming trip to Arlington, Texas to play in the 87th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic. The school's last appearance in a major bowl game was the Sugar Bowl. The win over UCF was his second straight win over a fellow ranked opponent. Overall, this year will be the school's 15th bowl appearance and the fourth time in the last five years that Fritz has led the program to a bowl game. The four bowl appearances under his watch make him the most successful in school history by that metric. Individually he moved into second all-time at Tulane this season in career victories and is up to 42 in his Green Wave career. His program had both the Most Outstanding Offensive Player (Michael Pratt) and the Most Outstanding Defensive Player (Nick Anderson) of the AAC Championship game. He also set a school-record and had the most All-AAC selections in the conference this season this season with 15 plus the league's Offensive Player of the Year (Tyjae Spears).
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Fritz was named the 2022 AAC Coach of the Year for the first time in his career last week. It is also the first time that a Tulane coach ever been named the AAC Coach of the Year and only the second time overall that a Tulane coach has taken home the honor from a conference as Tommy Bowden was named the Conference USA Coach of the Year in 1998. Fritz has led Tulane to an overall 11-2 record including a mark of 7-1 in AAC play. The 11 wins this season is the second time in school history that the program has won 11 or more games and the first time since 1998. His seven wins in league play are the most for the program since 1934 and mark only the second time in the school's history that a Tulane team has won seven or more conference games in a single campaign. Tulane's first nationally ranking this year, eighth weeks ago, was a first for the program since 1998. The program also received its first-ever College Football Playoff Ranking this year and are currently placed 16th nationally in that metric. Tulane's AAC regular season title earned with the victory over Cincinnati on Nov. 25 was only the third in the history of the program and was the first since the Conference USA Championship title in 1998. Fritz led Tulane to its first win over a fellow ranked opponent since 1956 with the victory over then No. 23 ranked Cincinnati. The win over the Bearcats ended their then 32-game home winning streak.
The nine-game win total improvement this over last year is tied for the best-ever in a single season in FBS history along with Stanford (1940), Hawaii (1999) and Miami of Ohio (2010).
The other candidates for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award this season are Sonny Dykes (TCU), Mike Elko (Duke), Jim Harbaugh (Michigan), Lincoln Riley (USC), Kirby Smart (Georgia), Jon Sumrall (Troy) and Jeff Traylor (UTSA).
The winner of the 2022 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award will be officially announced on Jan. 7, 2023 at a reception in Los Angeles.
Fritz was named the winner in region 1 by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). As one of the regional winners, Fritz will be honored on Monday, Jan. 9, during the 2023 AFCA's Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. As a regional winner, he is also now finalist for National Coach of the Year honors. The AFCA recognizes five regional Coach of the Year winners in each of the Association's five divisions: Football Bowl Subdivision, Football Championship Subdivision, Division II, Division III and the NAIA. The winners are selected by active members of the association who vote for coaches in their respective regions and divisions.
2022 AFCA Regional Coach of the Year Winners
Football Bowl Subdivision
Region 1: Willie Fritz, Tulane University
Region 2: Josh Heupel, University of Tennessee
Region 3: Jim Harbaugh, University of Michigan
Region 4: Sonny Dykes, TCU
Region 5: Jonathan Smith, Oregon State University
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TICKETS
Tickets for the 2022 season for men's and women's basketball and baseball can be purchased by calling 504-861-WAVE (9283), logging on to TulaneTix.com or visiting the ticket office at the James W. Wilson Jr. Center.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow Tulane football on Twitter and Facebook and Instagram. Follow Tulane Athletics on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Â
WE ARE NOLA BUILT
Tulane University is located in the city of New Orleans. It is a city built on tradition and resiliency. The lessons Green Wave student-athletes have learned through their connection with this university and city have BUILT doctors, lawyers, business leaders, conference champions, all-conference players, All-Americans, professional athletes and NCAA tournament teams. The city of New Orleans has shaped us into who we are today. We are One City. We are Tulane. We are NOLA BUILT. Check out our story at NolaBuilt.com.
Players Mentioned
Postgame: HC Jon Sumrall and WR Anthony Brown-Stephens - 9/20/25
Sunday, September 21
Postgame: LB Sam Howard - 9/20/25
Sunday, September 21
Tulane Tuesday: WR Shazz Preston - 9/16/25
Tuesday, September 16
Tulane Tuesday: Spear TJ Smith - 9/16/25
Tuesday, September 16
