Jan. 12, 2009
Photo by John Russell
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Vanderbilt football program received the 2008 Academic Achievement Award Monday from the American Football Coaches Association.
Commodore Head Coach Bobby Johnson accepted the award that recognizes graduate rate successes on the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level at the AFCA luncheon that kicked off the organization’s 86th annual convention, which is being held at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville.
Representatives of the AFCA and sponsoring Touchdown Club of Memphis were on hand for the presentation. Vanderbilt was recognized for graduating 95 percent of its 2001 freshman class, the highest graduation rate among all 119 FBS teams.
“I am tremendously proud to accept this on behalf of our student-athletes and entire staff,” Johnson said. “Earning this trophy says a tremendous amount about our football program and Vanderbilt University.
“This recognition goes hand-in-hand with our expectations of young men entering our program. We work to reach their potential in athletics and we work to see them succeed in the classroom. Accepting this award today and earning a bowl victory last week says that we are having success in both areas,” Johnson added.
Officials of the AFCA and Touchdown Club of Memphis saluted the Commodore program.
“Vanderbilt has always placed great emphasis on academics. This year Bobby Johnson proved that you can be a winner on the field and a winner academically,” AFCA Executive Director Grant Teaff said.
“Congratulations to Coach Johnson and Vanderbilt University,” Touchdown Club of Memphis board member Bill Harper said. “College football should be about the student-athlete, and every coach ought to be striving to win this award. Coach Johnson and his staff are obviously working toward that goal.”
Johnson also praised the efforts of Vanderbilt Student Athletics’ academic support staff directed by Elizabeth Wright.
“Elizabeth and her staff, especially Sterling (Frierson) and Max-Maurice (Martin), do a tremendous job guiding our student-athletes through the academic side of college life at Vanderbilt. This trophy obviously reflects the academic performance of our players, but it also speaks volumes of the expert guidance and superb support provided throughout the year by the academic center staff,” Johnson said.
This marks the third time that Vanderbilt has received the Academic Achievement Award since the AFCA initiated it in 1981. The Commodores previously shared the honor with Boston College in 1996 and Notre Dame in 2001, and have been an annual contender for the prestigious trophy. In 2007, Vanderbilt narrowly missed sharing the honor, finishing third behind co-winners Northwestern and Notre Dame.
Johnson’s 2008 Commodore squad enjoyed their best season in more than a quarter century, finishing the campaign with a 16-14 victory over Boston College in the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl, the first Vanderbilt postseason win since 1955.
