Viator 3rd in STATS FCS Coach of the Year voting

From Staff Reports

The Contraband

Matt Viator, the 2015 Southland Conference Coach of the Year who led McNeese to a perfect 10-0 regular season and the conference championship, finished third in the voting for the 2015 STATS FCS National Coach of the Year, the organization released on Monday that recognized Portland State's Bruce Barnum as the winner.

Viator, who has compiled a 78-33 career record in 10 seasons at the helm at McNeese and is tied with Bobby Keasler as the school's all-time winningest coach, totaled 281 votes to finish behind Barnum (436) and Jacksonville State's John Grass (418). A total of 15 coaches were named to the final ballot.

After having its season opening game at LSU canceled due to the weather, the Cowboys rolled off 10 consecutive wins and finished as the only unbeaten team in the FCS for the regular season, and one of just three in all of Division I football, joining Clemson and Iowa.

Former McNeese assistant and current Grambling head coach Broderick Fobbs finished seventh in the voting with 110 points.

During the season, Viator became the Southland Conference's winningest coach in terms of league victories with 54 in his career, surpassing former Sam Houston State head coach Ron Randleman who held the record with 51.

McNeese's 9-0 conference record marked the eighth time in school history to go unbeaten in league play while the nine Southland victories is the most by a team in a season in conference history.

The Cowboys posted their fifth undefeated, untied regular season in school history and second under Viator, making him the first coach in school and second in conference history to post multiple unbeaten seasons (Louisiana Tech's Maxie Lambright, 1972 and 1974).

Barnum led PSU to a 9-2 record in his first season as head coach and one year after the team finished 3-9. The Vikings opened the year by upsetting Pac-12 member Washington State and later routed North Texas.

A national panel of 150 sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries voted for the STATS FCS Coach of the Year, selecting a top five among 15 finalists. Their voting reflected the regular season and was conducted before the start of the playoffs.

STAT FCS Coach of the Year Final Voting Results

1. Bruce Barnum, Portland State: 48-29-20-7-6-436
2. John Grass, Jacksonville State: 44-24-21-16-7-418
3. Matt Viator, McNeese State: 17-24-16-16-20-281
4. Jamey Chadwell, Charleston Southern: 15-16-23-24-19-275
5. Mike Houston, The Citadel: 4-23-26-21-24-256
6. Ed Lamb, Southern Utah: 7-13-13-16-15-173
7. Broderick Fobbs, Grambling State: 6-9-5-11-7-110
8. Ray Priore, Penn: 3-2-5-5-13-61
9. Rick Chamberlin, Dayton: 0-4-6-6-10-56
10. John Stiegelmeier, South Dakota State: 0-0-5-10-12-47
11. Danny Rocco, Richmond: 0-2-3-8-8-41
12. Dan Hunt, Colgate: 1-0-4-5-5-32
13. Jerry Mack, North Carolina Central: 0-2-3-3-2-25
14. Chris Villarrial, Saint Francis: 2-1-0-2-1-19

A first-place vote was worth five points, a second-place vote four points, a third-place vote three points, a fourth-place vote two points and a fifth-place vote one point.