Coach Whittingham receives the “I Made It Happen Award” from the John A. Moran Eye Center.
Coach Whittingham receiving the "I Made It Happen Award" from Wayne Imbrescia
University of Utah Football Coach Kyle Whittingham has received many extraordinary awards in the world of college football this year. But there is one honor that no other coach in the United States except Coach Whittingham received; it's the "I Made It Happen Award" from the John A. Moran Eye Center.
Yes it's true; Moran Executive Director Wayne Imbrescia presented the coveted award to Coach Whittingham on March 3rd, at a small (very small) ceremony in Coach's office. The "I Made It Happen Award" is given to an individual voted by Moran managers and directors for, well, making it happen.
Coach Whittingham, as he always does, gave his team credit for their great effort this year. Wayne told Kyle that while other awards recognize and represent a team effort, in contrast this award was specifically for Coach Whittingham. He congratulated Kyle for having the vision that this football team from Utah, so unheralded in the press during the year, could make it happen.
The mighty Utes won the Mountain West Conference championship by going undefeated at 13-0. This included the final game where they whipped, spanked and battered the "popcorn popping on the apricot tree" out of rival BYU. They then went on to thrash perennial powerhouse Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. The men from the hill ended the season ranked #1, but even folks in Provo know they deserved to be #1 because as Coach Whittingham said on national TV, "There is only one undefeated team in America, and it is Utah!"
We congratulate Coach Whittingham and thank him for setting a great example of what an individual can make happen with the right vision and drive.
Wayne kneels by the 2009 Sugar Bowl Trophy
You can learn more about news and events of the past year on the Moran website at www.moraneyecenter.