Jan. 6, 2004

USC head coach Pete Carroll was named the 2003 Division I-A Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association.

Carroll was selected by a vote of the AFCA members as the recipient of the nation's oldest Coach of the Year award (it has been presented since 1935).

He is the second Trojan head coach to win the AFCA honor, joining John McKay (a two-time winner in 1962 and 1972).

This is the latest National Coach of the Year honor for Carroll, who last month was honored by the Maxwell Club, ESPN.com, Home Depot and the Pigskin Club of Washington D.C.

Carroll, in his third year at USC, led the Trojans to the AP national championship and a 12-1 overall record in 2003 while winning the Pac-10 title for the second consecutive year and beating Michigan in the Rose Bowl.

Besides finishing atop the AP poll, his Trojans ended up first in polls conducted by the Football Writers Association of America, The Sporting News, SI.com, CBS.Sportsline.com, Collegefootballnews.com and the New York Times.