NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt E. Bronson Ingram Chair in Football Clark Lea is a finalist for the 2025 Dodd Trophy presented by PNC Bank the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Peach Bowl, Inc. announced Wednesday.
The Dodd Trophy celebrates the head coach of a team who enjoys success on the gridiron, while also stressing the importance of scholarship, leadership and integrity—the three pillars of legendary coach Bobby Dodd’s coaching philosophy. Finalists were selected by a panel consisting of all previous winners, national media, a member of the Dodd family and a College Football Hall of Fame member, taking into consideration each program’s graduation rate, Graduation Success Rate (GSR), commitment to service and charity in the community, on-field success thus far for the 2025 season and Academic Progress Rate (APR).
Lea is a finalist along with Curt Cignetti (Indiana), Ryan Day (Ohio State), Joey McGuire (Texas Tech) and Kirby Smart (Georgia). The winner of the award will be announced in Atlanta during bowl week at this year’s College Football Playoff semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.
The 2025 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, Lea has guided Vanderbilt to a 10-2 record overall and 6-2 mark in the Southeastern Conference this fall, setting program records with both win totals. The Commodores defeated four nationally-ranked teams throughout the season, including three—South Carolina, LSU and Missouri—that were among the top 15 in the polls at the time of the matchup.
As a result, the Dores entered the Associated Press rankings in September and have remained among the top 25 for the last 13 weeks after having never spent more than four weeks in the poll in a season. Vandy is currently among the top 15 in both the AP and AFCA coaches’ rankings heading into the ReliaQuest Bowl, where the Commodores will face Iowa on Dec. 31.
Lea has already received the American Football Coaches Association Region 2 Coach of the Year award and repeated as SEC Coach of the Year. He is currently a finalist for the George Munger National Coach of the Year award as well, and was among the finalists for Walter Camp Football Foundation and AFCA Coach of the Year honors too.
