STEPHEN HAWKINS, AP Sports Writer
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) – TCU’s Gary Patterson is The Associated Press coach of the year in the Big 12 Conference.
The Horned Frogs (11-1) claimed a share of the Big 12 title in only their third season in the league. TCU and Baylor were co-champs.
Patterson got 17 of 20 votes in the balloting by media members who cover the Big 12 on a regular basis. The award was revealed Tuesday.
The other three votes went to Baylor’s Art Briles, who last season was the unanimous pick by AP voters as the league’s top coach.
Patterson is TCU’s winningest coach, with a 131-45 record in 14 seasons. The coach of the year honor comes a year after the defensive-minded Patterson hired co-offensive coordinators to install a more up-tempo, higher-scoring scheme.