Mike Kramer Named Big Sky Coach Of The Year
By, Idaho State Athletics
Idaho State’s joined an elite and exclusive club Wednesday , as he was selected by his league peers as the 2014 Big Sky Conference Football Coach of the Year.
Kramer became just the second coach in Division I history to earn Coach of the Year honors at three different schools in the same conference. Dennis Erickson was the first to accomplish the feat, claiming Coach of the Year honors at Washington State, Oregon State and Arizona State in the Pac-12.
Kramer previously won the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year honors at Eastern Washington in 1997, and at Montana State in 2002 and 2005. Kramer is just the third coach in league history to capture the honor four times. Boise State’s Tony Knap won it in 1971, and from 1973-75. Nevada’s Chris Ault won the award in 1983, 1986, 1990 and 1991.
“I have the staff of the year, the President of the Year, the trainer of the Year, the equipment manager of the year and administration of the year,” Kramer said. “This is a full-team award. I am humbled by the honor and extremely grateful for the great support we have at Idaho State.
Kramer guided the Bengals to their best season in more than a decade, compiling an 8-4 campaign. The eight victories marked a five-win improvement from the 2013 season. The eight wins matched the combined win total of the program from the previous five seasons.
Idaho State finished with a winning season for the first time since 2003. The Bengals snapped a 48-game road losing streak on Oct. 25 with a 46-12 win at Northern Colorado. The Bengals won on the road the next week, beating Portland State 31-13. It marked the first time since 1983 the Bengals won road games on consecutive weekends. Idaho State enjoyed its first first-game winning streak since 1995.
A key story to the Bengals’ turnaround was the offense. Idaho State led the nation with an average of 348.1 passing yards per game, and finished second in total offense with an average of 562 yards per game.
Idaho State senior quarterback earned First-Team All-Conference honors and is a finalist for the Walter Payton Award. Arias leads the nation in passing yards (4,076) and passing touchdowns (38). Junior running back , who also earned First Team All-Conference honors, rushed for single-season school record 1,495 yards. Sophomore wide receiver , also a First Team All-Conference player, caught 83 passes for 1,234 yards and 10 touchdowns. Idaho State’s allowed just 15 sacks despite 535 passing attempts.
On defense, the unit led the Big Sky Conference in interceptions with 19. Linebacker was named the Freshman of the Year and is a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award. Jenkins tallied 120 total tackles.
Kramer was assisted by associate head coach and offensive coordinator , co-defensive coordinators and , offensive line coach , inside wide receivers coach , outside wide receivers coach , defensive line coach , and cornerbacks coach . is the Director of football operations and video coordinator. is the head of strength and conditioning.
