The 2025 Dodd Trophy Watch List, released Monday by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Peach Bowl, Inc., features 26 of college football's top coaches. However, there is noticeably one name that does not appear on that prestigious list: South Carolina's Shane Beamer.
Given the award's requirements for quality of coach, focusing on leadership, scholarship, and integrity, Beamer seems like a natural fit. The award honors a head football coach whose program represents the highest of ideal on and off the field. As Beamer heads into his fifth year at the helm of the Gamecocks program, the South Carolina HC has emphasized character, culture, and community in a way that has earned him strong support from Gamecock Nation and national media alike. But this year, the metrics that also determine eligibility kept him off that list.
Let's Break Down Why
The watch list was created through a selection process by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Peach Bowl, Inc. Unlike many coach-of-the-year awards, the Dodd Trophy is not just about wins and championships, or even solely about integrity. Other requirements that are taken into consideration are Academic Progress Rate (APR) and Graduation Success Rate (GSR), as well as projected success for the 2025 season.
“As we enter our 50th anniversary season, we’re looking for exceptional candidates to join the storied fraternity of coaching greats who have previously won The Dodd Trophy,” said Chairman of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation Jim Terry. “Over the last half century, this award has always stood for more than just wins on the field but also focuses on how coaches should embody leadership with their student-athletes in the classroom and throughout their communities. Keeping this in mind, we only consider coaches whose programs have earned the highest APRs and require coaches to have at least two years of experience leading their current programs, so that they have had time to establish a precedent at their universities, both on and off the field.”
For a coach to have his name added to the watch list, a coach must also:
- Be in at least their second year as head coach with their current program
- Lead a team with an Academic Progress Rate (APR) above the national average, which is set at 969 this cycle
- Demonstrate community service, academic success, and projected on-field performance
Beamer clearly meets the tenure requirement, as he took over in 2020 and has led the Gamecocks through four seasons, including two bowl appearances. But the APR is where things get murky.
Where Beamer Falls Short
South Carolina football's APR scores over the past three reporting years have been:
- 2020–21: 984
- 2021–22: 983
- 2022–23: 973
Those numbers are above the national average for football, which is currently set at 969. However, the Gamecocks' APR for the 2023-24 season was 966, just three points shy of the requirement. While 966 is respectable, it does not clear the bar that the Dodd Trophy uses to define elite academic performance.
Compare the South Carolina numbers to those of some other SEC peers whose coaches did make the list:
COACH | SCHOOL | 2023-24 APR |
|---|---|---|
Brian Kelly | LSU | 1000 |
Kirby Smart | Georgia | 1000 |
Josh Heupel | Tennessee | 982 |
Eliah Drinwitz | Missouri | 993 |
Kalen DeBoer | Alabama | 1000 |
Can Beamer Get There?
Absolutely. The Dodd Trophy's midseason list offers another opportunity for coaches to be added. If South Carolina starts strong in the 2025 campaign, and the team's APR continues to climb, Beamer could absolutely earn a spot on that list at some point. The academic foundation has already improved on his watch. The culture is already in place. The missing piece just needs a little statistical polish to break through into the coaching elite.
Looking Ahead
Shane Beamer may not be on the Dodd Trophy Watch List yet, but that does not mean that he is undeserving. In fact, throughout the football season, Beamer's name may certainly be making headlines for the Dodd Coach of the Week Award. This weekly award honors coaches whose program embodies the award’s three pillars of scholarship, leadership and integrity, while also having success on the playing field during the previous week. Something that is very attainable by Beamer Ball, because, if anything, Beamer is proof that leadership can't always be measured by numbers alone.