Arizona State enjoyed its first 10-win season since 2007 this year, and head coach Todd Graham is receiving plenty of praise outside of Tempe for the job that he's done.
Last week, the Sun Devil football coach was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year after guiding Arizona State to a 10-2 record in regular season play and a Pac-12 South Division title.
Now, Graham is receiving national attention for his work at Arizona State. On Tuesday morning, Graham was named a finalist for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year which honors the coaches that best exemplify responsibility, integrity, sportsmanship and excellence both on and off the field.
Graham is one of 10 finalists from the Football Bowl Subdivision and he joins Art Briles of Baylor, David Cutcliffe of Duke, Mark Dantonio of Michigan State, Gus Malzahn of Auburn, Urban Meyer of Ohio State, Jim Mora of UCLA, Bill O'Brien of Penn State, Nick Saban of Alabama and Dabo Swinney of Clemson as a nominee.
Fan voting makes up 20 percent of the final tally for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year award and the voting runs from Dec. 10 to Dec. 22. Fans can vote at CoachoftheYear.com or on Facebook at facebook.com/LMCoachoftheYear.
In a press release from the Arizona State athletic department, interim athletic director James Rund said that the Sun Devils will try and garner support for their head coach for this award.
"He is a teacher, first and foremost, and his passion for positively influencing our student-athletes has been evident in the football program's excellence on the field, in the classroom and around the community," Rund said. "Coach Graham personifies the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award's ideals of sportsmanship, integrity, responsibility and excellence - and we hope to rally our fans and alumni to voice their support him with their votes over these next few weeks."
If Graham wins, he will receive $50,000 from Liberty Mutual to donate to charities of his choice and a $20,000 contribution to the Arizona State University Alumni Association for scholarship.