Dec. 11, 2002

LUBBOCK, Texas - The Sporting News handed out its postseason honors Wednesday afternoon and named Texas Tech head football coach Mike Leach its Big 12 Coach of the Year. Leach led the Red Raiders to an 8-5 record in the regular season and the school's third-straight bowl invitation.

During his three seasons at Texas Tech, Leach has posted a 22-16 record, including this season's eight wins, the most for the Red Raiders under Leach. He also is the first head coach in school history to guide his first three teams to bowl appearances.

Red Raider quarterback Kliff Kingsbury added to his list of postseason honors as the publication named him the Offensive Player of the Year. Kingsbury holds 39 school records, 13 conference marks and seven NCAA records. He recently returned from New York City where he received one of 14 $18,000 post-graduate scholarships from the College Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Tuesday night.

Leach, Kingsbury and the Red Raiders began preparations for the 2002 Mazda Tangerine Bowl Wednesday evening. The game against Clemson is scheduled for Mon., Dec. 23, at 4:30 p.m. (CT) and will be televised nationally on ESPN.