College Football Fans Team With Kirk Herbstreit To Promote Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Voting

Boston, MA (PRWEB) October 15,2009 -- College football fans have a loud and significant voice when it comes to determining the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award winners. Only the top 25 coaches in online fan voting from each NCAA division qualify for the College Football Hall of Fame-endorsed model used by Liberty Mutual to select the finalists who will be announced in December. With the importance of fan votes at a premium, the most ardent supporters of their favorite coach can now use a new, customizable video starring ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit (http://www.coachoftheyear.com/superfan?src=SMR_Oct09_Kirk)to rally their friends, fellow alumni and other fans to cast votes at www.coachoftheyear.com (http://www.coachoftheyear.com?src=SMR_Oct09_HP1).

It takes just a few short minutes for fans to create their own, personalized SuperFan video exclusively at Liberty Mutual's Coach of the Year website (http://www.coachoftheyear.com?src=SMR_Oct09_HP2). Narrated by Herbstreit, the video highlights an individual fan's unwavering - and somewhat zany - support for the college football coach they feel best demonstrates sportsmanship, integrity, responsibility and excellence on and off the field.

In the video, Herbstreit, anchoring a popular sports news program, marvels at the lengths to which a specific fan is going to support his or her favorite coach - whether it's posting messages on billboards, silos, barbeque toothpicks or even skywriting. Fans can then target specific friends with a plea for support, and then share the customized video through email or Facebook campaigns.

The customizable SuperFan video is just one of the new, interactive features on the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year website to capture the passion of college football fans. Weekly "Coach Insider" interviews give fans insight into the off-the-field lives of some of today's most prolific coaches, such as USC's Pete Carroll (http://coachoftheyear.com/Coach-Insider-Detail_pcarroll.aspx?src=SMR_Oct09_PeteCarroll)and Georgia Tech's Paul Johnson. And Coach Spotlight videos give fans an exclusive look at what makes coaches such as Chris Petersen (http://coachoftheyear.com/Video-Player.aspx?PlayerId=44146004001#&src=SMR_Oct09_ChrisPeterson) of Boise State and Penn State's Joe Paterno so successful.

About the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award

Launched in 2006, Liberty Mutual created the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award to celebrate responsible coaching because it is one of the clearest examples of a positive influence on young people, their families and entire communities. Past winners include 2006 - Greg Schiano (Rutgers); 2007 - Ron Zook (Illinois), Jerry Kill (Southern Illinois), Bill O'Boyle (Chadron State), John Gagliardi (Saint John's); 2008 - Nick Saban (Alabama), Mickey Matthews (James Madison), Chuck Broyles (Pittsburg State), Larry Kehres (Mount Union).

Fans can vote daily through December 6 to help determine the finalists for the 2009 Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award. The winners are then selected from a pool of 25 finalists by a combination of fan votes and an elite selection committee comprised of college football media and College Football Hall of Fame (http://collegefootball.org/)players and coaches. Liberty Mutual awards each winner $50,000 to support their favorite charities and $20,000 for their school's alumni association toward student scholarships. After this year, Liberty Mutual will have donated nearly $1 million toward charity and scholarship in honor of the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award winners.

About Liberty Mutual Group

''Helping people live safer, more secure lives'' since 1912, Boston-based Liberty Mutual Group (LibertyMutualGroup.com) is a diversified global insurer and fifth-largest property and casualty insurer in the U.S. based on 2008 direct written premium. Liberty Mutual Group ranks 86th on the Fortune 500 list of largest U.S. corporations, based on 2008 revenue. The company has over 45,000 employees located in more than 900 offices throughout the world.

The eighth-largest auto and home insurer in the U.S., Liberty Mutual (libertymutual.com) sells full lines of coverage for automobile, homeowners, valuable possessions, personal liability, and individual life insurance. The company is an industry leader in affinity partnerships, offering car and home insurance to employees and members of more than 12,000 companies, credit unions, professional associations and alumni groups.

About the National Football Foundation & the College Football Hall of Fame

Founded in 1947 with leadership from General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army coach Earl ''Red'' Blaik and immortal journalist Grantland Rice, The National Football Foundation & College Football Hall of Fame, a non-profit educational organization, runs programs designed to use the power of amateur football in developing scholarship, citizenship and athletic achievement in young people. With 121 chapters and 12,000 members nationwide, NFF programs include the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind., the NFF Hampshire Honor Society, Play It Smart, the NFF-FWAA Football Forum, the NFF Gridiron Club of New York City, and scholarships of over $1 million for college and high school scholar-athletes. The NFF presents the MacArthur Trophy, the Draddy Trophy, presented by HealthSouth, and releases the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) Standings. Learn more at FootballFoundation.org or CollegeFootball.org.

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