Conference USA  IRVING, Texas – After leading his team to a spot in the Conference USA Championship Game as West Division Champions and a school-record third consecutive bowl game, Louisiana Tech head coach Skip Holtz has been named C-USA Coach of the Year, as selected by a vote by the league’s 13 head coaches.

In this fourth season at the helm of the Bulldogs, Holtz guided Louisiana Tech back to the C-USA Championship game for the second time in three seasons by winning the West Division with a 6-2 record during conference play. The Bulldogs won seven consecutive games to clinch to win the West Division title with two weeks to play in the regular season and head into the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl with an 8-5 overall record. Holtz posted these accomplishments with a squad that returned a combined nine starters on offense and defense.  The Bulldogs lead Conference USA and rank third nationally in passing offense (359.8 yards per game) and are second in the league in total offense (516.1 yards per game) and scoring offense (44.0). The Louisiana Tech offense ranks fifth in the FBS in scoring and has scored 44 or more points in seven of its wins, including six straight at one point. Entering the bowl game, single-season school record for points scored, passing yards and total offense could all be broken.

Under Holtz’s tutelage, Louisiana Tech placed a league-high seven players on the C-USA All-Conference first team, while producing an additional six second-teamers for a league-high-tying 13 selections on the two teams.

Bulldogs senior QB Ryan Higgins was voted the league’s Most Valuable Player, while junior WR/KR Carlos Henderson became the first player since the league’s inception in 1996 to be named both Offensive Player of the Year and Special Teams Player of the Year in the same season.

This is Holtz’s first Conference USA Coach of the Year honor and he is the sixth different coach in Louisiana Tech history to earn league coaching honors. Holtz will lead Louisiana Tech in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl on Friday, Dec. 23 in Fort Worth, Texas against Navy. Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. CST on ESPN.