IOWA CITY, IA - University of Iowa Football Coach Kirk Ferentz has been named Region III Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association. The announcement came today from the AFCA's headquarters in Waco, TX.

Ferentz led the 2009 Hawkeyes to a 10-2 record and a place in the top 10 of both major polls and the most recent BCS standings. Iowa finished in a tie for second in the Big Ten with a 6-2 league mark. The Hawkeyes are still a candidate for a BCS bowl bid and will be guaranteed a spot in a January bowl game for the sixth time in eight years.

For the third time, Ferentz was named winner of the Dave McClain Big Ten Coach of the Year Award.

Ferentz joins Brian Kelly (Cincinnati), Nick Saban (Alabama), Mack Brown (Texas) and Gary Patterson (TCU) as AFCA regional coaches of the year. Ferentz was also named regional AFCA Coach of the Year in 2002.

The national AFCA Coach of the Year will be named at the group's national convention Jan. 12th, in Orlando, FL.