No headline

| November 21, 2018 2:39 PM

Best, Hawkins share Big Sky

coach of the year honors

OGDEN, Utah — Eastern Washington’s Aaron Best and UC Davis’ Dan Hawkins shared Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year honors, as voted on by the league’s coaches.

It is the first honor for both head coaches, in their second year at their respective schools.

Both guided their teams to records of 9-2, 7-1 Big Sky, both teams made the FCS playoffs, and both earned first-round byes.

Best led his alma mater back to the postseason after missing out on the playoffs last season, which left a bitter taste in Cheney. Eastern Washington was voted as the preseason favorite and lived up to it. They began the season 2-0 with wins over Central Washington and Northern Arizona — both ranked teams at the time.

Hawkins led his alma mater to the best season so far in school history since UC Davis joined the Aggies joined Division I. Hawkins is a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Award given to the top coach in the FCS.

The Aggies were picked to finish ninth by the coaches and media in the Big Sky preseason polls. Instead, they finished in a three-way tie for the 2018 Big Sky Championship.