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December 11, 2007
NEW HAVEN, CT – Mark Mangino, head coach of the Orange Bowl-bound Kansas Jayhawks, has been selected as the Walter Camp 2007 “Coach of the Year." The Walter Camp Coach of the Year recipient is voted by the nation’s 119 Division I-A coaches and sports information directors.
Mangino is the first Kansas coach to earn the honors. It is the fourth time since 1998 a Big 12 coach has earned Walter Camp Coach of the Year honors. Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops won it in 2000 and 2003, while former Kansas State head coach Bill Snyder received it in 1998.
The 2007 season has been a historic one for the Kansas football program. Under Mangino’s guidance, the Jayhawks had their first 11-0 start in school history and earned their highest national ranking (#2 in USA TODAY and AP polls) since 1968.
Mangino's team has been one of the nation's best statistically, ranking among the nation's elite in scoring offense (2nd, 43.3 ppg), total offense (6th, 491 ypg), scoring defense (5th (16.00 ppg) and rushing defense (7th, 91.42 ypg). The well-disciplined Jayhawks top the country in fewest penalties (48) and turnover margin (+1.58).
For its efforts, Kansas (11-1) has been invited to the 2008 Orange Bowl to play ACC-champion Virginia Tech. Two Jayhawk players - junior offensive linemen Anthony Collins and junior cornerback Aqib Talib - were recently recognized as Walter Camp First Team All-Americans.
Mangino has been also recognized as the 2007 Big 12 Coach of the Year, and as The Home Depot and Woody Hayes National Coach of the Year. Mangino was hired at KU in December 2001 after serving 11 seasons as an assistant at Kansas State (1991-1998) and Oklahoma (1999-2001). At Oklahoma, Mangino served as the offensive coordinator for the team that defeated Florida State for the 2000 national championship.
Following that season, Mangino was awarded the Frank Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach. In six seasons, Mangino has taken Kansas to three bowl berths (2003 Tangerine Bowl, 2005 Fort Worth Bowl and 2008 Orange Bowl). Over the last three seasons, Kansas has sported a 24-12 overall record, including a 13-11 mark in Big 12 play.
A native of New Castle, Pa., Mangino is a 1987 graduate of Youngstown University. Mangino and his wife, Mary Jane, have two children.
Mangino, “Player of the Year” award winner Darren McFadden (Arkansas) and the members of the 2007 Walter Camp All-America team will be honored at the organization’s national awards banquet on Saturday, January 12, 2008 at the Yale University Commons.
