QUEBEC CITY (CIS) - Saint Mary's University's Steve Sumarah is the 2009 recipient of the Frank Tindall trophy as the coach of the year in CIS football, presented by Coaches of Canada.
A first-time winner, Sumarah was honoured Friday morning during the CIS Coach of the Year Breakfast at Palais des arts.
The native of Halifax became the third Huskies sideline boss to capture the prestigious award since its inception in 1969. Blake Nill, his predecessor at Saint Mary's who took over the Calgary Dinos program in 2006, was honoured in 1999, while the late Larry Uteck received the trophy in 1988 and 1993.
In his fourth campaign at the helm, Sumarah was named AUS coach of the year for the third straight season after he led the Huskies to a third consecutive first-place finish with identical 7-1 records. The Huskies went on to capture the AUS title for the third year in a row thanks to a 31-22 Loney Bowl win over the StFX X-Men.
After opening the 2009 schedule with a 24-19 loss to StFX on September 12, the Huskies went on an eight-game winning streak including interlock victories over Quebec rivals Sherbrooke and McGill.
Saint Mary's led the AUS in both points scored (266) and points allowed (119) in the regular season as ten Huskies found their way to the conference all-star team.
A former receiver at Saint Mary's, Sumarah has been part of the Huskies' coaching staff for 12 years including four Vanier Cup appearances and a pair of national championships as offensive coordinator. He led the Huskies to a return appearance in the Vanier Cup in his second season as head coach in 2007.
Prior to joining the Saint Mary's staff, Sumarah coached at StFX and in the AF2 (Arena League), and worked at five CFL training camps. He was named Football Nova Scotia coach of the year in 1999 and was named AUS volunteer coach of the year in 2000.
Laval's Glen Constantin, Wilfrid Laurier's Gary Jeffries and Calgary's Blake Nill were the other finalists for the Frank Tindall trophy.