Patriot League Football Coach of the Year Trophy to be Named for Dick Biddle
CENTER VALLEY, Pa. – The Patriot League Football Coach of the Year Award will be named for Colgate’s legendary head coach Dick Biddle, as announced by the League office on Monday. Biddle, the winningest coach in League history, led the Raiders to seven Patriot League Championships and as many trips to the NCAA Playoffs from 1996-2015.
"This honor is a fitting tribute to a man who was a great ambassador not only for Colgate University and the Patriot League, but also the college football community," said Patriot League Commissioner Jennifer Heppel. "Coach Biddle earned a record-five Patriot League Football Coach of the Year Awards, led Colgate to the 2003 NCAA championship game and possesses the values, qualities, and traits of an outstanding coach both on and off of the field."
During his 19-year tenure at the helm of the Colgate football program, Biddle set Patriot League career records for overall wins (137), League wins (81) and League titles (7). His 81-27 mark in Patriot League play gives him the highest winning percentage (.750) of any League coach with 40 or more games.
"This is a tremendous honor,” Biddle said. “I loved every minute of my Colgate coaching career, but I particularly enjoyed the competition week in and week out inside the Patriot League. The games were always hard-fought and competitive, and they featured some of the best student-athletes and coaches you could find in collegiate athletics. It was an honor to be associated with every school, every coach and every football player in the Patriot League, and it certainly is an honor to have this award carry my name going forward."
Biddle made an immediate impact on the Raiders’ program that had finished 0-11 one-season prior to his ascension to the head coaching role. The Parkersburg, W.Va., native guided Colgate to a 6-5 record, tying for second-place in 1996, while claiming his first Patriot League Coach of the Year honor in his debut season. He went on to win his first of seven championships the following season in 1997. Biddle garnered League coach of the year honors in 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2012, winning the League title in each of those seasons. In 2003, he was selected as the NCAA Division I-AA Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) after taking Colgate to the NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game.
Biddle, a 1971 Duke University graduate, was a two-time All-ACC linebacker, while being named a co-captain and Third Team AP All-American during his senior season. He was later named to the Blue Devils’ All-Century Team.
Following his storied playing days, he began his coaching career as an assistant in 1973 at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa., where he spent four seasons. Biddle made his first stop at Colgate in 1977 as a defensive line coach under the legendary Fred Dunlap. During his six-year stay, he helped the program to five winning seasons, including its first 10-win campaign, while being promoted to defensive coordinator for his last two seasons in Hamilton. Biddle coached linebackers at Virginia Tech for two seasons, before spending five seasons at Minnesota and two at Navy. He made his return to Colgate as an assistant in 1992, working for two different head coaches, before assuming the head coach position in 1996.
Biddle joins four former Patriot League coaches to be recognized with an award in their name. The baseball coach of the year is named for Bucknell’s Gene Depew, the men’s lacrosse coach of the year is named for Lafayette’s Bill Lawson, the men’s tennis most valuable player is named for Colgate’s Joe Abrahamson and the women’s tennis most valuable player is named for Fordham’s John “Pat” Rooney.
MORE ON THE BIDDLE TRIBUTE:
Colgate Head Coach Dan Hunt (served as an assistant to Biddle during the coach’s 19-year tenure): "This is the perfect tribute to Coach Biddle. He is what the Patriot League is all about: a coach's coach who values winning -- and winning the right way. He has won more games than anyone who has ever done it at Colgate and in the Patriot League. I am proud of the PL for this move. It is 100 percent the right thing to do for a great man who gave too much to this league."
Colgate Director of Athletics Dr. Nicki W. Moore: "We are grateful to our Patriot League colleagues who have joined with us to honor an incredibly successful coach and mentor to generations of Colgate Football student-athletes and coaches who have followed him. With the naming of this award for Coach Dick Biddle, we collectively affirm the importance of strong academic performance for our scholar-athletes and acknowledge that winning on the field also matters. Coach Biddle helped to elevate Patriot League Football while building a legacy of pursuing excellence at Colgate, and we are so pleased to honor him in this way."
Biddle By the Numbers
5 – Patriot League Coach of the Year honors.
7 – Patriot League Championships and NCAA Playoff appearances, including the 2003 NCAA DI-AA Championship Game.
81 – Most Patriot League wins
108 – Most Patriot League games coached.
.750 – His winning percentage in Patriot League play, making him the winningest coach in League history with 40 or more games.
137 – Most overall wins during his Patriot League career.
ABOUT THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The Patriot League is in its third decade of academic and athletic achievement, continually demonstrating that student-athletes can excel at both academics and athletics without sacrificing high standards. The Patriot League’s athletic success is achieved while its member institutions remain committed to its founding principle of admitting and graduating student-athletes that are academically representative of their class. Participation in athletics at Patriot League institutions is viewed as an important component of a well-rounded education.