With impact both on and off the field, the best coaching performances in FCS college football are recognized by the Eddie Robinson Award. Lehigh’s Kevin Cahill, the 2025 national coach of the year, led one of only two programs to go undefeated during the regular season.
Lehigh’s tradition-rich football program had slumped in such an unexpected way that when Kevin Cahill was hired as head coach three years ago, he instilled in his players that “process” outweighs “outcome.”
It turns out, when the Mountain Hawks got the first step right, winning results followed under Cahill.
Having guided Lehigh to a 12-0 record and an outright Patriot League championship, the 46-year-old Cahill has been chosen from 15 finalists as the 2025 recipient of the Eddie Robinson Award, which goes to the national coach of the year.
The 39th annual award, encompassing all 13 FCS football conferences and selected by a national voting panel, is named for legendary Grambling State coach Eddie Robinson. Cahill will be honored at the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Show on Jan. 3 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Lehigh had the most Patriot League titles when Cahill was hired away from the Yale staff in December 2022, but the Mountain Hawks were coming off five straight losing records, which hadn’t happened since the 1962-70 seasons.
After a 2023 season of growth, improving structure and implementing “process over outcome,” Lehigh improved in Cahill’s second campaign by seven wins to nine overall, earned a share of the 2024 PL title and gained its first FCS playoff victory in 13 years.
This year, four of Lehigh’s five wins out of league came over teams that went on to have winning seasons, and the Mountain Hawks and defending national champion North Dakota State were the only unbeaten teams during the FCS regular season. The Mountain Hawks raised their PL title collection to 14 (two more than any other program) while gaining the No. 5 seed in the playoffs. The program’s first 12-0 team since 2000 will host Villanova in a second-round game on Saturday.
NDSU’s Tim Polasek finished second and Tennessee Tech’s Bobby Wilder third in the Eddie Robinson Award voting. The award’s past recipients form a Who’s Who list on the FCS level, including Erk Russell, Jim Tressel, Andy Talley, Jerry Moore, K.C. Keeler, John Stiegelmeier and two-time recipients Mickey Matthews, Sean McDonnell and Craig Bohl.
2025 Eddie Robinson Award Voting
Following is a breakdown of the voting results. A first-place vote was worth five points, a second-place vote four points, a third-place vote three points, a fourth-place vote two points and a fifth-place vote one point. The final number is the combined point total.
1. Kevin Cahill, Lehigh: 12-8-9-7-3-136 2. Tim Polasek, North Dakota State: 13-10-4-3-6-129 3. Bobby Wilder, Tennessee Tech: 4-15-9-5-5-122 4. DeSean Jackson, Delaware State: 11-3-7-1-5-95 5. Todd Whitten, Tarleton State: 2-6-5-6-8-69 6. Travis Bush, UT Rio Grande Valley: 1-2-5-8-3-47 T7. Jim Fleming, Rhode Island: 3-2-3-4-6-46 T7. Mike Jacobs, Mercer: 2-3-4-4-4-46 9. Steve Englehart, Presbyterian: 4-2-1-4-1-40 10. Colby Carthal, Stephen F. Austin: 1-3-1-3-3-29 11. Joel Taylor, West Georgia: 2-0-2-3-5-27 12. Bobby Hauck, Montana: 0-1-3-3-1-20 13. Tremaine Jackson, Prairie View A&M: 0-1-3-1-3-18 14. Andrew Aurich, Harvard: 1-0-0-4-3-16 15. Adam Lechtenberg, Central Connecticut State: 0-0-0-0-0-0In addition to the Eddie Robinson Award, the Walter Payton Award (FCS Offensive Player of the Year), Buck Buchanan Award (FCS Defensive Player of the Year), Jerry Rice Award (FCS Freshman Player of the Year), HBCU National Player of the Year and Doris Robinson Scholar-Athlete of the Year will be presented at the Stats Perform FCS National Awards Show.
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