DALLAS (FWAA) – Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea has been selected as the 2025 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year after leading the Commodores to the most wins in program history for both a single season and conference play. Vanderbilt was a part of the national discussion throughout the season as it defeated four then-Top 25 opponents along the way, equaling the most ranked wins by the program from its previous 16 seasons combined. The Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year award is presented by the Football Writers Association of America and the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
 
Lea is the first Vanderbilt coach to win the Eddie Robinson Award and was the first to ever be a finalist. He was chosen from among 11 other finalists in Bob Chesney of James Madison, last season's winner in Curt Cignetti of Indiana, Ryan Day of Ohio State, Mike Elko of Texas A&M, Tony Elliott of Virginia, Marcus Freeman of Notre Dame, Jerry Mack of Kennesaw State, Joey McGuire of Texas Tech, Jim Mora of Connecticut, Kirby Smart of Georgia and Jon Sumrall of Tulane.
 
Lea is the first Eddie Robinson winner from a Southeastern Conference program since LSU's Ed Orgeron in 2019. He will receive the iconic bust of the late Robinson, a College Football Hall of Fame coach at Grambling State University for 55 years and winner of 408 career games, at a Jan. 17, 2026, reception in Miami leading up to the College Football Playoff National Championship.
 
"Vanderbilt has had a season for the ages – it has risen to be among the best in the SEC and competed right to the end of the regular season for a spot in the College Football Playoff," said Sugar Bowl Committee President Dorothy "Dottie" Reese. "It's been so impressive to watch Coach Lea build his alma mater into a national power and we're looking forward to hosting him at the Eddie Robinson Award reception next month in Miami."
 
Lea has led Vanderbilt to a 10-2 overall mark and 6-2 SEC record as it prepares for its ReliaQuest Bowl matchup Dec. 31 against Iowa (8-4). Both win totals are program records. Based in large part on the four ranked wins, the Commodores have been included in the Associated Press' poll a school-record 13 weeks in 2025. The SEC's Coach of the Year for a second consecutive season coached two players to first-team All-America honors by assorted organizations, including the Heisman Trophy runner-up in quarterback Diego Pavia, named to the Associated Press' first team on Monday. Tight end Eli Stowers was named first-team All-America by the Walter Camp Football Foundation last Friday and also earned the prestigious William V. Campbell Trophy last week presented at the National Football Foundation Annual Awards dinner for academic excellence. 
 
"Clark Lea is a comprehensive football coach. He leads with purpose – and the turn-around at Vanderbilt is one of the best college football stories in recent memory," said Bill Bender, the FWAA's 2025 President of The Sporting News. "He is passionate on the field and insightful with the media off it. Lea's accomplishments at his alma mater make him an ideal recipient of this year's Eddie Robinson Award." 
 
"The Robinson family congratulates Coach Lea of Vanderbilt on becoming the 2025 ERCOY. Coach Lea is a Vanderbilt Commodore through and through, and he's proven that even more as the head coach, so his winning this award is very fitting and well deserved," said Eddie Robinson III, Coach Robinson's grandson. 
 
Lea and Vanderbilt first turned heads in its Sept. 13 SEC opener, dominating then-No. 11 South Carolina 31-7 in a sold-out Williams-Brice Stadium. It was the Commodores' first win in a conference opener since 2011, its first road win against an AP-ranked opponent since 2007 and snapped a16-game losing skid against South Carolina with its largest margin of victory in series history. At that point Lea had led his team to three straight wins of 20 points or more to open the season, the first time the program has accomplished that feat since 1930.
 
Vanderbilt contended for the SEC crown throughout the season, eventually settling in at 6-2 behind a four-way tie for first at 7-1. Lea and the Commodores capped the regular season with another big road win over a ranked opponent, winning at No. 18 Tennessee 45-24, beating their in-state rival for the first time since 2018 and taking their first win at Neyland Stadium since 2017. It was Vanderbilt's first win over Tennessee as a ranked team since 1948 as it rolled up a season-high 314 rushing yards, the most by the Vandy offense since 2022, and the most against an SEC school since at least 1996.
 
Working in tandem through Lea's leadership this season was the rise of Pavia, the Vanderbilt quarterback and the emotional team leader. Lea coached Pavia, a graduate transfer from New Mexico State, to become the SEC Offensive Player of the Year within a conference stacked with prolific quarterbacks. He completed 242-of-340 passes for 3,192 yards and 27 touchdowns and also ran for 826 yards and nine scores this fall. Pavia leads the SEC in six individual statistical categories entering postseason play including total offense (33.4 yards per game), pass efficiency rating (171.5), touchdown passes (27), completion percentage (71.2%), yards per pass attempt (9.39) and points responsible for (218).
 
The 3,192 passing yards, Pavia's 4,018 yards of total offense and his 27 touchdown passes are Vanderbilt single-season records, while his 826 rushing yards are second-most among all Power 4 quarterbacks.
 
Stowers, like Pavia a graduate student and his favorite target, has earned multiple national accolades and awards to date. The All-SEC tight end has 62 receptions for 769 yards and four touchdowns this fall as the team leader in both categories. The current national leader in total yards by a tight end paced the team in receptions in six games and receiving yards four times this season.
 
Should either or both be part of the FWAA's All-America team to be announced Thursday, they would be Vanderbilt's first FWAA All-Americans on offense since guard George Deiderich in 1958.
 
The offensive tandem marks the first time since 2013 for the Commodores to have two first-team All-SEC honorees in a single season.
 
Lea is 25-35 in his fifth season at Vanderbilt entering the ReliaQuest Bowl.
 
The FWAA has presented a coaching award since the 1957 season when Ohio State's Woody Hayes was named the first recipient. Beginning in 1997, the FWAA Coach of the Year Award has been named in honor of the late Robinson, a coaching legend at Grambling State University for 55 seasons.
 
Robinson, who passed away in 2007, won 70.7 percent of his games during his illustrious career. Robinson's teams won or tied for 17 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) championships after joining the league in 1959. His Tigers teams won nine Black College Football Championships during his career, all of it at Grambling.
 
The Eddie Robinson Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association. Founded in 1997, the NCFAA includes college football's most prestigious awards and its 25 awards have honored more than 950 recipients dating back to 1935. For more information about the NCFAA and its award programs, visit NCFAA.org.
 
The Allstate Sugar Bowl has established itself as one of the premier college football bowl games, having hosted 29 national champions, 110 Hall of Fame players, 55 Hall of Fame coaches and 21 Heisman Trophy winners in its 91-year history. The 92nd Allstate Sugar Bowl Football Classic, which will serve as a College Football Playoff Quarterfinal, is scheduled to be played on January 1, 2026. In addition to football, the Sugar Bowl Committee annually invests over $1 million into the community through the hosting and sponsorship of sporting events, awards, scholarships and clinics. Through these efforts, the organization supports and honors thousands of student-athletes each year, while injecting over $2.5 billion into the local economy in the last decade.
 
Founded in 1941, the Football Writers Association of America consists of journalists, broadcasters, publicists, photographers and key executives in all areas of college football. The FWAA works to govern media access and gameday operations while presenting awards and honors, including an annual All-America team. For more information about the FWAA and its programs and initiatives, contact Executive Director Steve Richardson at 214-870-6516 or tiger@fwaa.com.
 
ALL-TIME FWAA NATIONAL COACHES OF THE YEAR
1957: Woody Hayes, Ohio State
1958: Paul Dietzel, LSU
1959: Ben Schwartzwalder, Syracuse
1960: Murray Warmath, Minnesota
1961: Darrell Royal, Texas
1962: John McKay, USC
1963: Darrell Royal, Texas
1964: Ara Parseghian, Notre Dame
1965: Duffy Daugherty, Michigan State
1966: Tom Cahill, Army
1967: John Pont, Indiana
1968: Woody Hayes, Ohio State
1969: Bo Schembechler, Michigan
1970: Alex Agase, Northwestern
1971: Bob Devaney, Nebraska
1972: John McKay, USC
1973: Johnny Majors, Pitt
1974: Grant Teaff, Baylor
1975: Woody Hayes, Ohio State
1976: Johnny Majors, Pitt
1977: Lou Holtz, Arkansas
1978: Joe Paterno, Penn State
1979: Earle Bruce, Ohio State
1980: Vince Dooley, Georgia
1981: Danny Ford, Clemson
1982: Joe Paterno, Penn State
1983: Howard Schnellenberger, Miami
1984: LaVell Edwards, BYU
1985: Fisher DeBerry, Air Force
1986: Joe Paterno, Penn State
1987: Dick MacPherson, Syracuse
1988: Lou Holtz, Notre Dame
1989: Bill McCartney, Colorado
1990: Bobby Ross, Georgia Tech
1991: Don James, Washington
1992: Gene Stallings, Alabama
1993: Terry Bowden, Auburn
1994: Rich Brooks, Oregon
1995: Gary Barnett, Northwestern
1996: Bruce Snyder, Arizona State
 
EDDIE ROBINSON COACH OF THE YEAR
1997: Mike Price, Washington State
1998: Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee
1999: Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech
2000: Bob Stoops, Oklahoma
2001: Ralph Friedgen, Maryland
2002: Jim Tressel, Ohio State
2003: Nick Saban, LSU
2004: Urban Meyer, Utah
2005: Charlie Weis, Notre Dame
2006: Greg Schiano, Rutgers
2007: Mark Mangino, Kansas
2008: Nick Saban, Alabama
2009: Gary Patterson, TCU
2010: Chip Kelly, Oregon
2011: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
2012: Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
2013: Gus Malzahn, Auburn
2014: Gary Patterson, TCU
2015: Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
2016: Mike MacIntyre, Colorado
2017: Scott Frost, UCF
2018: Bill Clark, UAB
2019: Ed Orgeron, LSU
2020: Jamey Chadwell, Coastal Carolina
2021: Luke Fickell, Cincinnati
2022: Sonny Dykes, TCU
2023: Kalen DeBoer, Washington
2024: Curt Cignetti, Indiana
2025: Clark Lea, Vanderbilt