After guiding Georgia Southern's football team to a Southern Conference championship and a No. 3 seed in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs, head coach Jeff Monken on Tuesday was selected as the American Football Coaches Association's 2011 FCS Region 2 Coach of the Year.
    GSU finished the regular season with a record of 9-2 overall and 7-1 in the SoCon. Monken is among 20 coaches up for the Eddie Robinson FCS Coach of the Year award presented by The Sports Network.
    The AFCA will honor its 2011 National Coach of the Year at the AFCA Convention in San Antonio, Texas, on Jan. 10.
    All coaches who were eligible for regional honors are eligible for national honors.
    The AFCA began recognizing district coaches of the year following the 1960 season. The award was changed in 1983 to recognize regional winners instead of district winners. The number of divisions was increased from two to four, and five regional winners were selected in each division.

2011 AFCA Regional Coaches of the Year
Football Bowl Subdivision
Region 1: Dabo Swinney, Clemson University
Region 2: Les Miles, Louisiana State University
Region 3: Kevin Sumlin, University of Houston
Region 4: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State University
Region 5: David Shaw, Stanford University
Football Championship Subdivision
Region 1: Rob Ambrose, Towson University
Region 2: Jeff Monken, GSU
Region 3: Dean Hood, Eastern Kentucky University
Region 4: Craig Bohl, North Dakota State University
Region 5: Willie Fritz, Sam Houston State University