Tom Gilmore: FINALIST for Coach of the Year

Last week I asked for your assistance in voting for Tom Gilmore as Liberty Mutual's Coach of the Year. You answered the call. 

On behalf of all those who love Holy Cross and Holy Cross Football, I thank you. 

Just yesterday, Tom Gilmore was named a FINALIST for the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year. 

What are those involved in this process saying about Coach Gilmore?, 

"College football fans clearly recognize Coach Gilmore as one of the game's true

leaders, and we agree he is an excellent finalist for the 2011 Liberty Mutual

Coach of the Year Award," said Greg Gordon, Liberty Mutual senior vice 

president, consumer marketing.  "Each year, we ask fans to vote for the 

coaches who best exemplify the award's characteristics – sportsmanship, 

integrity, responsibility and excellence, on and off the field. Coach Gilmore does 

just that, through his success on game days, as well as providing leadership to 

his student-athletes and commitment to the greater Holy Cross community."

Be mindful that this voting process and award are not a mere popularity, stuff the ballot box sort of undertaking. How does it work? 

Selection committees of more than 50 College Football Hall of Fame players and 

coaches – including Archie Manning, Lou Holtz, Vince Dooley, Ronnie Lott and 

Archie Griffin – and the national college football media, such as Kirk Herbstreit, 

Stewart Mandel and Tim Brando, will also cast votes for the winners to ensure 

coaches are evaluated fairly and measured against the specific values of 

responsibility and integrity. Winners are ultimately determined using the 

following voting weight: fans, 20 percent; College Football Hall of Fame, 55 

percent; and college football media, 25 percent. 

With a full 80% of the process and results determined by the College Football Hall of Fame and the college football media, those facts speak VOLUMES as to what those "in and around the game" think of Coach Gilmore.

Be mindful, though, that a vote for Coach Gilmore is also a vote for Holy Cross and an assist in elevating and accentuating the Holy Cross 'brand'. 

While the qualitative assessments alone are reason enough to vote for TG, I want to give you 70 thousand other reasons to vote for our man. 

Liberty Mutual will award $50,000 to donate to the charity of the winner's 

choice, along with a $20,000 grant to the winning school's alumni association 

for student scholarships and activities. Between Dec. 6 and Dec. 22, fans can 

visit www.CoachoftheYear.com to vote among the finalists. Fan votes 

constitute 20 percent of a coach's final score.

   

Thus, I ask you once again to vote early and often---as in each and everyday---for Tom Gilmore as the Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year. A vote for Tom is a vote for Holy Cross. 

So many players who have gone through the Holy Cross Football program during Tom's tenure have shared the profound impact that Tom and the staff have had on them 'on and off the field'. 

I recently received a message from a former Ivy league player who did not play for Tom but who has gotten to know him and wishes that he did.  

With his permission, I welcome sharing with you the following comment: 

Who could possibly have a better teacher than Tom Gilmore who had a 3.7 gpa In Computer Science from University of Pennsylvania, 1st team Academic All American, MVP of the Ivy League as a defensive tackle who decided that teaching is the most noble profession of them all. 

I vote him in as America's #1 teacher. 

Can I quit my job and help a Coach that stands for everything that represents manhood for these fine Christian gentleman that he leads? 

When the record is written, and his full story is told at the end of his career, we will never forget the example he has given to all us of what 100% total commitment means.

Tom Gilmore represents all that is good about college athletics today. 

I will do everything I can to help TG accomplish his mission! There is no one like him in college sports today! 

One of my great regrets in life is that I never had a chance to play for him.

A friend of HC football.

Here is the link to vote: 

Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year   

Let's WIN!!

LD '83

HCGLC Mission: committed to excellence in helping Holy Cross Football win on and off the field.