Mississippi State head football coach Sylvester Croom was named the Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year by his peers and by the Associated Press Wednesday. Croom, who led the Bulldogs (7-5, 4-4 SEC) to their first bowl berth since 2000, received seven of the 11 votes in the AP balloting, which consists of Southeastern sports writers who cover the conference. “It is a great honor and a tremendous blessing to be named SEC coach of the year by my peers,” Croom said in a statement released Wednesday. “To even be considered for such an award by the coaches in this conference is quite special.”
On Tuesday, Croom was named coach of the year by the American Football Coaches Association for region No. 2, which covers most of the South.
Croom is the first State coach to be honored as AP SEC Coach of the Year since Charley Shira in 1970 and the first from State to win the SEC Coaches Coach of the Year award since Wade Walker in 1957.
The Bulldogs face Central Florida (10-3) in the Dec. 29 AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and will be covered nationally by the ESPN network.