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Jerry Kill named top I-AA coach

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn., Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Southern Illinois University's Jerry Kill Thursday was named Division I-AA Coach of the Year.

He received the Eddie Robinson Award, given to the winner at the annual awards banquet in Chattanooga, Tenn.

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Kill guided the Salukis to a 10-2 record in 2004 and the title of the Gateway Conference.

SIU was a perfect 9-0 against I-AA opponents and outscored competitors by more than 30 points per game. The school earned the No. 1 ranking for the final 10 weeks of the year, and garnered the No. 1 seed in the 2004 playoffs.

Kill is the second coach from a Gateway Conference school to win the award, and first since Youngstown State's Jim Tressel won it in 1994.

It is the first major I-AA award of any kind for Southern Illinois.

The honor is named after the legendary coach at Grambling University, Eddie Robinson, who retired in 1997 after 56 years at the school.

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