Mangino exalted yet again

Coach-of-the-year awards keep coming for KU skipper

? Kansas University coach Mark Mangino was named the Walter Camp Football Foundation’s 2007 Coach of the Year on Tuesday.

The 11-1 Jayhawks will face Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl after starting 11-0 for the first time in school history and earning their highest national ranking (No. 2 in the USA Today and AP polls) since 1968.

Mangino is the first Kansas coach to earn the honor. This is the fourth time since 1998 that a Big 12 coach has been named Walter Camp Coach of the Year.

Mangino, whose team is one of the nation’s best statistically, has also been recognized as the 2007 Big 12 Coach of the Year and The Home Depot and Woody Hayes National Coach of the Year.

He was hired at Kansas in December 2001 after serving 11 seasons as an assistant at Kansas State and Oklahoma. At Oklahoma, Mangino was the offensive coordinator for the team that beat Florida State for the 2000 national championship.

In six seasons, Mangino has taken Kansas to three bowl berths. In the last three seasons, the team has had a 24-12 record and is 13-11 in Big 12 play.

The Walter Camp recipient is voted by the nation’s 119 Division I-A coaches and sports information directors.