UT Martin head football coach Jason Simpson piled up the post season honors after leading the Skyhawks to their first Ohio Valley Conference Championship and the Football Championship Division postseason.

Simpson was named the Ohio Valley Conference Coach of the Year and was one of 16 finalists for The Sports Network’s Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award. The Sports Network established the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award in 1987, and it has been presented annually to the top coach in Division I-AA. The winner is chosen by the division’s sports information directors and selected sports writers who cover Division I-AA football.

Simpson was also named the Region 3 American Football Coaches Association’s 2006 Coach of the Year. “What makes this award so special is that this is the only coach of the year award voted on exclusively by the coaches themselves,” AFCA Executive Director Grant Teaff said. “The winners are selected by the coaches they compete with and against on a daily basis.”

The AFCA recognizes five regional Coach of the Year winners in each of the Association’s five divisions: I-A, I-AA, Division II, Division III and NAIA. The winners are selected by active members of the association who vote for coaches in their respective regions and divisions.