Kansas' Mark Mangino Wins
2007 Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year Award

HOUSTON (Jan. 17) -- Kansas Jayhawks head football coach Mark Mangino has been named the 2007 Paul "Bear" Bryant College Coach of the Year by the members of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.  The Paul Bear Bryant College Football Coaching Awards are held annually to benefit the American Heart Association and honor excellence in coaching while raising funds to fight heart disease and stroke.

In 2007, Mangino led his team to a 7-1 record in Big 12 Conference play (11-1 overall, a school record for most wins in a season) as well as an Orange Bowl victory over Virginia Tech.

"Mark Mangino has shown extraordinary coaching ability this season," said Mike Donoghue, a staff writer for The Burlington (Vt.) Free Press and president of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.  "It was a difficult choice for the NSSA members to pick from the list of finalists provided because they each show what is so special about college football.  Coach Mangino has certainly demonstrated that hard work pays off by always having his players well prepared for every game. Paul Bear Bryant would have been proud to know Coach Mangino."

ABOUT THE NATIONAL SPORTSCASTERS AND SPORTSWRITERS ASSOCIATION

The NSSA is the largest national association that focuses on the crafts of both sportscasting and sportswriting. The association, with its headquarters in Salisbury, N.C., honors the National Sportscaster of the Year and the National Sportswriter of the Year. The NSSA also selects the top sportscaster and sportswriter for each state annually and inducts the nation's top sports journalists into its Hall of Fame each spring.  To learn more, visit www.nssahalloffame.com.

ABOUT THE PAUL BEAR BRYANT COLLEGE COACHING AWARDS

The Paul Bear Bryant College Football Coaching Awards honor excellence in coaching while raising funds for the AHA to fight heart disease and stroke, the nation's No. 1 and No. 3 killers. Bryant himself suffered a heart attack prior to his death in 1983. Funds raised benefit research, community education and outreach programs of the AHA. To learn more visit americanheart.org/bearbryantawards.