INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Southwest Baptist University head football coach Robert Clardy has been named the GLVC Coach of the Year as announced by the conference office today.
Clardy is the third different coach in five years to earn the top respect from his peers as Coach of the Year. Picked to finish fifth in this year’s GLVC Preseason Poll following a 4-6 record in 2015, the Clardy-led Bearcats shared the GLVC Championship with Truman and recently earned the No. 3 seed in the NCAA Division II Playoffs with a 10-1 record. The No. 17 Bearcats will host No. 21 Colorado School of Mines on Saturday in SBU’s first-ever postseason appearance. Although Clardy has spent the past eight seasons on the coaching staff at SBU, the 2016 campaign marked just his second as head coach.
In addition to Edwards, Clardy mentored four additional unanimous first-team All-GLVC selections in junior running back Bubba Jenkins, senior defensive linemen Vice Epenesa and Via Manuma, and junior defensive utility standout D’Angelo Tucker. His staff also guided five others to a league-high 10 first-team selections, including junior wide receiver Kendrick Payne, junior offensive lineman Sammy Zeqiraj, junior offensive utility star Connor Still, senior linebacker Shaun Hutchinson, and senior punter Austin Molitor, while leading another nine players to All-Conference accolades for a conference-best total of 19 honorees.
