Tulane's Sumrall Named A Semifinalist for the 2025 George Munger College Coach of the Year Award
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Tulane head football coach Jon Sumrall was named one of the 24 semifinalists for the 2025 George Munger College Coach of the Year, announced on Wednesday, Nov. 19, by Maxwell Football Club Executive Director Mark Wolpert.
Sumrall is one of only six non-power 4 conference coaches on the list. He has been one of the most successful coaches in the country over the last four seasons with a record of 40-11, two Sun Belt Conference championships 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.
The other 23 semifinalists for the Coach of the Award include Kalen DeBoer (Alabama), Kalani Sitake (BYU), Kirby Smart (Georgia), Brent Kay (Georgia Tech), Willie Fritz (Houston), Curt Cignetti (Indiana), Bob Chesney (James Madison), Jerry Mack (Kennesaw State), Brian Newman (Navy), Eric Morris (North Texas), Marcus Freeman (Notre Dame), Ryan Day (Ohio State), Brent Venables (Oklahoma), Lane Kiffin (Ole Miss), Dan Lanning (Oregon), Pat Narduzzi (Pitt), Sean Lewis (San Diego State), Mike Elko (Texas A&M), Joey McGuire (Texas Tech), Lincoln Riley (USC), Clark Lea (Vanderbilt), Tony Elliott (Virginia), and Jake Dickert (Wake Forest).
The finalists will be announced on Dec. 8, and the winner of the 2025 George Munger Award will be announced on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025. The formal presentation of the George Munger Coach of the Year Award will be held on Saturday, March 14, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia
Courtesy 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.