Tulane's Jon Sumrall Named a Finalist for Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award
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Tulane head football coach Jon Sumrall was recently named one of the 12 finalists for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award, by the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
The other finalists are Bob Chesney (James Madison), Curt Cignetti (Indiana), Ryan Day (Ohio State), Mike Elko (Texas A&M), Tony Elliott (Virginia), Marcus Freeman (Notre Dame), Clark Lea (Vanderbilt), Jerry Mack (Kennesaw State), Joey McGuire (Texas Tech), Jim Mora (UConn), and Kirby Smart (Georgia).
Coach Sumrall is 11-2 this season including a 34-21 victory over North Texas in the American Conference Championship on Friday, Dec. 5. Among his 11 wins this season are a pair of victories over Power 4 opponents in Northwestern (BIG) and Duke (ACC). The team is also seeded No. 11 in the College Football Playoff plus are ranked in both the Associated Press Poll (No. 17) and the USA Today Coaches Poll (No. 18).
This is the third time in his four seasons as a head coach that he has been named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award.
After winning the American Conference Championship on Friday night, for the second time in four seasons, the No. 11 seeded Tulane football team (11-2) is playoff bound for the first time in school history as the program and will faceoff with No. 6 seed Ole Miss (11-1) in Oxford, Miss at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 20, at 2:30 p.m. in a game that will be shown on TNT, the College Football Playoff Committee announced on Sunday morning.
Besides being the first-ever playoff appearance, the Green Wave are also the first team to ever make the playoffs from the state of Louisiana in the 12-team format.
The Green Wave qualified for the CFP by being the fourth-highest ranked conference champion. The winner will go on to face No. 3 Georgia (12-1) in the Allstate Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1 at 7 p.m.
Ole Miss and Tulane met earlier this season with the Rebels earning the 45-10 victory on Sept. 20.
The Green Wave's 2025 season includes 11 wins in 13 games, featuring two victories over Power 4 opponents—the first time since 1988. The Dec. 5 win over North Texas (34-21) secured Tulane its second conference title in four years.
The team earned 13 American All-Conference selections plus the Special Teams Player of the Year in Patrick Durkin. The program's All-Conference selections this season are Shadre Hurst (offensive line – 1st team), Santana Hopper (defensive line – 1st team), Jack Tchienchou (safety – 1st team), Durkin (kicker – 1st team), Alec Clark (punter – 1st team), Tre'Von McAlpine (defensive line – 2nd team), Sam Howard (linebacker – 2nd team), Derrick Graham (offensive line – 3rd team), Harvey Dyson (linebacker – 3rd team), Javion White (cornerback – 3rd team), TJ Smith (return specialists – 3rd team), Jason Arredondo (designated snapper – 3rd team), and Jahiem Johnson (cornerback – Honorable Mention)
The program sports a 43-12 record over the last four seasons.
Head Coach Jon Sumrall has been one of the most successful coaches in the country over the last four seasons with a record of 43-11, two Sun Belt Conference championships, an American Conference title and a pair of double-digit winning streaks. He was named Sun Belt Conference Coach of Year and was twice named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year honor. Sumrall returned to Tulane after serving as the Green Wave's Co-Defensive Coordinator for three years (2012-14). In 2013, he was a crucial part of Tulane's run to the New Orleans Bowl, the program's first postseason appearance since 2002 and third since 1988. Sumrall also was named a finalist for FootballScoop Defensive Line Coach of the Year.
Portions Courtesy of Tulane Athletics
Doug has covered a gamut of sporting events in his fifty-plus years in the field. He started doing sideline reporting for Louisiana Tech football games for the student radio station. Doug was Sports Director for KNOE-AM/FM in Monroe in the mid-80s, winning numerous awards from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association for Best Sportscast and Best Play-by-Play. High school play-by-play for teams in Monroe, Natchitoches, New Orleans, and Thibodaux, LA dot his resume. He did college play-by-play for Northwestern State University in Natchitoches for nine years. Then, moving to the Crescent City, Doug did television PBP of Tulane games and even filled in for legendary Tulane broadcaster, Ken Berthelot in the only game Kenny ever missed while doing the Green Wave games. His father was an alumnus of Tulane in the 1940s, so Doug has attended Tulane football games in old Tulane Stadium, the Superdome, and Yulman. He was one of the 86,000 plus on December 1, 1973, sitting in the North End Zone to seeTulane shutout the LSU Tigers, 14-0. He was there when the Posse ruled Fogelman and in Turchin when the Wave made it to the World Series. He currently is the public address voice of the Tulane baseball team.