Three MAC Football Specialty Awards Handed Out
Dec. 2, 2003
The 2003 Mid-American Conference football specialty awards added three additional honorees today as Miami's Terry Hoeppner was named MAC Coach of the Year, Western Michigan defensive lineman Jason Babin won his second consecutive MAC Defensive Player of the Year award and RedHawk quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was tabbed as the league's Offensive Player of the Year.
Hoeppner, in his fifth season as head coach at Miami, led the RedHawks to a MAC East Division title with a perfect 8-0 conference mark and an overall record of 11-1. The RedHawks have won 11 games in a row, the second longest active streak in the nation, and are ranked this week at No. 11 in the BCS Standings, No. 14 in the Associated Press poll and No. 15 in the USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches Top 25.
Hoeppner's 2003 RedHawk squad leads the MAC in scoring offense (42.0 ppg), scoring defense (18.1 ppg allowed) and total defense (323.5 ypg allowed) and is second in total offense (486.9 ypg) going into Thursday's MAC Championship game at Bowling Green. The RedHawks will play in the GMAC Bowl Dec. 18 in Mobile, Ala., against Louisville of Conference USA.
A native of Fort Wayne, Ind. and a 1969 graduate of Franklin College, Hoeppner joins Bo Schembechler (1965), Bill Mallory (1973) and Dick Crum (1974) as RedHawk mentors honored as MAC Coach of the Year. Hoeppner was a runaway choice, garnering 31 of the 47 votes cast by the MAC News Media Association. Also receiving consideration were Joe Novak of Northern Illinois (7 votes) and Gregg Brandon of Bowling Green (5 votes).
Roethlisberger had a breakout year after two solid campaigns his first two seasons as the RedHawks field leader. Roethlisberger has completed 295-of-427 pass attempts for 3,670 yards with 29 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He has completed 69.1% of his pass attempts with a pass efficiency rating of 159.0.
A junior from Findlay, Ohio, Roethlisberger enters Thursday's championship game as the MAC career leader in pass completion percentage at 65.2 percent (807-of-1,236), fifth in passing yards (10,013) and fourth in touchdown passes (76). He also ranks eighth nationally in passing efficiency and sixth in total offense (314.7 ypg) this season.
Roethlisberger was an overwhelming choice, receiving 29 votes. Also named were Northern Illinois running back Michael Turner (9 votes) and Bowling Green quarterback Josh Harris (8 votes). Previous Miami honorees for MAC Offensive Player of the Year are Bruce Matte (1966), Bob Hitchens (1972), Terry Morris (1986) and Travis Prentice (1998).
Babin becomes the seventh honoree in MAC history to capture back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year honors and the first since JoJuan Armour of Miami in 1997-98. A senior from Paw Paw, Mich., Babin paced the league in tackles for a loss with 33 and sacks with 15. He was credited with 113 tackles (80 solo, 33 assisted), three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. Babin's tackles for losses totaled 117 yards. His 75 career tackles for a loss rank second all-time in MAC history.
Babin was selected on 30 of the 47 ballots cast with Bowling Green defensive back Janssen Patton (8 votes) also receiving consideration for the league's top defensive award. Babin joins former Broncos Bob Rowe (1965 and 1966), John Offerdahl (1985), Mark Garalczyk (1986) and Sean Mulhearn (1990) as MAC Defensive Player of the Year.
Yesterday the MAC Freshman of the Year went to Central Michigan's Jerry Seymour and the MAC Special Teams Player of the Year was awarded to Steve Azar of Northern Illinois. The winner of the Vern Smith Leadership Award, emblematic of the league's best player, will be announced Wednesday, Dec. 3.
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