James Franklin has been named a semifinalist for the George Munger College Coach of the Year Award. The award is named after former University of Pennsylvania head coach George Munger, and has been presented to the top coach in college football since 1989.

Franklin, along with 21 other semifinalists, will find out if he won the award when it is announced on December 29. Last year, the award was won by Army head coach Jeff Monken.

Franklin is in his sixth-year as Penn State’s head coach and is now on the verge of his third season with double-digit wins during his time in Happy Valley. He has an overall record of 54-22 at the helm for the Nittany Lions.

Other Big Ten coaches joining Franklin as semifinalists are Ryan Day of Ohio State, P.J. Fleck of Minnesota, and Tom Allen of Indiana.

There have been two previous Penn State head coaches to win the award since it was introduced in 1989. Joe Paterno won it three times (1990, 1994, 2005), and Bill O’Brien won it once (2012).