NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. – Craig Bohl's season as head coach of North Dakota State ended on the field Saturday in the same manner as the previous two – with a national championship. And to add the final stamp on the perfect year, Coach Bohl received the ultimate reward for his positive impact on his Bison players, school, and community. Liberty Mutual Insurance, in partnership with the National Football Foundation and the College Football Hall of Fame, announced Bohl as the 2013 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award winner for the Football Championship Subdivision. The Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award is the leading college football honor recognizing coaches for their responsibility, integrity, sportsmanship and excellence, on and off field.
 
As Coach of the Year, Liberty Mutual will award Coach Bohl $50,000 to support his favorite charity and $20,000 in scholarship to the North Dakota State University Alumni Association. Since 2006, Liberty Mutual Insurance has provided more than $2 million to support charities and alumni association scholarship funds on behalf of its Coach of the Year winners.
 
Coach Bohl has selected TeamMates as his award beneficiary. Tom and Nancy Osborne founded the TeamMates Mentoring Program in 1991 to provide support and encouragement to school aged youth. The goal of the program is to see youth graduate from high school and pursue post-secondary education. TeamMates currently provides a mentor for over 5,000 youth across Nebraska and Iowa, with a vision to serve 10,000 youth and be nationally recognized as the leading school-based mentoring program by 2015.
 
Coach Bohl's superior season and commitment to his players and community elevated him above a group of five FCS coach finalists through fan votes cast December 10-22 at CoachoftheYear.com and ballots from elite selection committees of national media and College Football Hall of Fame players and coaches. Fans votes contributed 20 percent to each coach's final score, and the media and College Football Hall of Fame accounted for 25 percent and 55 percent, respectively. The other 2013 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year winners are Gus Malzahn, Auburn (FBS); Curt Wiese, Minnesota Duluth (Division II); and Pete Fredenburg, Mary Hardin-Baylor (Division III).
 
"We are excited to stand with the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame, as well as Bison fans, to recognize Coach Bohl's role in helping his student-athletes achieve their full potential on and off the field of play," said Jim MacPhee, senior vice president and Chief Marketing Officer, Liberty Mutual Personal Insurance. "Each year, our winners are able to positively impact their schools, communities and beyond through our award, and we are excited to further Coach Bohl's support of mentoring as a Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year."
 
For the third consecutive season under the leadership of Coach Bohl the Bison earned the FCS championship, the culmination of a season that began with a victory at defending Big 12 champion Kansas State – his seventh win in 11 years against an FBS team – and ended with a title win against Towson. The undefeated campaign saw Bohl, who is to become head coach at Wyoming in 2014, leave North Dakota State as its all-time winningest coach with 104 victories and the Missouri Valley Football Conference Coach of the Year for the third straight year. On the field, he coached 14 Bison players to all-MVFC first- or second-team honors; off the field he mentored six student-athletes to the MVFC All-Academic Team.
 
Bohl's commitment to football success is matched equally by his contributions off the field. Bohl is a spokesperson for Jason's Foundation to prevent youth suicide, and participates annually in the Coach to Cure MD national campaign. Patients at Sanford Children's Hospital in Fargo have often been uplifted by visits from Coach Bohl, his staff and Bison players; and Coach and the Bison are supporters of Make-A-Wish, Special Olympics, and the United Blood Services blood drive.