CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Appalachian State head coach Jerry Moore was named the winner of the Eddie Robinson Award, edging out North Dakota State's Craig Bohl.
The award honors the best coach in NCAA Division I-AA college football.
Bohl led all candidates with 29 first-place votes, but had fewer second-, third- and fourth-place votes than Moore.
Moore guided Appalachian State to a 10-1 mark and a spot in Friday's national championship game.
Bohl led the Bison to a 10-1 mark, the team's only defeat coming in a 10-9 loss to Division I Minnesota.
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NDSU was ineligible for the Division I-AA tournament this season during its reclassification period after moving up from Division II.
Appalachian State wins I-AA title
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Kevin Richardson led Appalachian State to its second straight Division I-AA national championship, running for 179 yards and four touchdowns in the Mountaineers' 28-17 victory over Massachusetts on Friday night.
Richardson's third touchdown put the Mountaineers (14-1) ahead 21-14 at the beginning of the fourth quarter.
He added another for 2 yards with 1:51 left that gave him the I-AA record for rushing touchdowns in a season with 30.
Appalachian State is the first team to win consecutive crowns in six years, and the Mountaineers relied heavily on Richardson.
The Minutemen (13-2), hoping to win their first title since 1998, cut it to 21-17 on Chris Koepplin's 42-yard field goal with 8:46 left.
UMass got the ball back, but Appalachian State's Corey Lynch got an interception to seal it.
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Appalachian State is the first team to take home the newly named NCAA Division I Football Championship. The NCAA is phasing out the terms Divisions I-A and I-AA that applied to football. I-A is now the Football Bowl Subdivision, while I-AA is the Football Championship Subdivision.
