The Maxwell Football Club, the oldest football club in America, announced that University of Michigan head football coach Brady Hoke has been named its Collegiate Coach of the Year for the 2011 season. Hoke was named the 19th head coach in school history on Jan. 11, 2011. The former assistant coach at U-M (1995-2002) led the Wolverines to an 11-2 record (6-2 Big Ten) and Allstate Sugar Bowl victory in his first season. Nationally, Hoke became one of eight coaches to direct a team to a Bowl Championship Series (BCS) game in his first season, while he became the third coach to direct a team to a BCS victory in his first season. The Big Ten coaches voted Hoke as the recipient of the Hayes-Schembechler Coach of the Year award, while the Big Ten media named him the Dave McClain Coach of the Year. He was also named a finalist for three other national Coach of the Year awards: Bear Bryant, Eddie Robinson and Liberty Mutual. Hoke is the third Michigan coach to be honored by the Maxwell Football Club joining Lloyd Carr in 1997 and Bo Schembechler in 1989.

NaVorro Bowman, LB, San Francisco (Penn State) - Racked up 14 tackles and half of a sack in San Francisco's 23-20 overtime loss to the New York Giants in the NFC Championship Game.

Tom Brady, QB, New England (Michigan) - Threw for 239 yards on 22 of 36 passing and scored the game-winning touchdown on a one-yard rush in New England's 23-20 win over Baltimore in the AFC Championship Game.

Mario Manningham, WR, New York Giants (Michigan) - Caught a 17-yard touchdown pass to put New York ahead in the fourth quarter, helping the Giants earn a 20-17 overtime win over San Francisco.

Rob Ninkovich, LB, New England (Purdue) - Made seven tackles in New England's 23-20 win over Baltimore.

Bernard Pollard, S, Baltimore (Purdue) - Tied for the team lead with 12 tackles in Baltimore's 23-20 loss to New England.

Devin Thomas, WR, New York Giants (Michigan State) - Recovered two fumbles on special teams, including one on a punt return in overtime to put New York in position to convert on the game-winning field goal, in the Giants' 23-20 win over San Francisco.

NaVorro Bowman, LB, San Francisco (Penn State) - Racked up 11 tackles in San Francisco's 36-32 win over New Orleans.

Tom Brady, QB, New England (Michigan) - Threw for 363 yards and six touchdowns in New England's 45-10 win over Denver.

Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans (Purdue) - Completed 40 of 63 passes for 462 yards and four touchdowns in New Orleans' 36-32 loss to San Francisco.

Malcolm Jenkins, S, New Orleans (Ohio State) - Posted eight tackles, a sack and a tackle for loss in New Orleans' 36-32 loss to San Francisco.

Mario Manningham, WR, New York Giants (Michigan) - Caught three passes for 31 yards and a touchdown in the New York Giants' 37-20 win over Green Bay.

Rob Ninkovich, LB, New England (Purdue) - Recorded five tackles, including 1.5 sacks and a tackle for loss in New England's 45-10 win over Denver.

J.J. Watt, DE, Houston (Wisconsin) - Led the team with 12 tackles, three tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks in Houston's 20-13 loss to Baltimore.

Martez Wilson, LB, New Orleans (Illinois) - Notched three tackles, including 1.5 sacks in New Orleans' 36-32 loss to San Francisco.

The Big Ten and SEC were the only two conferences to feature at least three top 12 teams in both the final Associated Press (AP) and USA Today coaches polls released today. The Big Ten was also one of only three conferences to produce at least four top 25 teams in both final polls along with the SEC (five teams) and Big 12 (four).

Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin each appeared among the top 10 in one of the final national rankings. The Big Ten Champion Badgers were ranked No. 10 in the AP poll and No. 11 in the coaches vote. The Spartans, the Legends Division and Outback Bowl Champions, were rated No. 11 by the media and No. 10 by the coaches. The Wolverines, winners of the Sugar Bowl, were ranked No. 12 in the AP poll and No. 9 in the USA Today rankings.

The Big Ten ended the season with three teams rated among the top 10 for the second time in three seasons and the fifth time in the last 10 years. Wisconsin ends the year among the top 10 for the second straight season after ranking No. 7/8 (AP/USA Today) in the final polls of the 2010 campaign. Michigan State concludes the year among the top 10 for the first time since ranking No. 7 in both final polls of the 1999 season. Michigan ends the year as a top-10 squad for the first time since rating No. 8/9 to conclude the 2006 campaign.

Five Big Ten teams received votes in the final poll, with Nebraska wrapping up its first Big Ten season ranked No. 24 by both the media and coaches. Penn State received votes in both final polls.

Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans (Purdue) - Threw for 466 yards and three touchdowns on 33 of 43 passing in New Orleans' 45-28 win over Detroit.

Mario Manningham, WR, New York Giants (Michigan) - Caught four passes for 68 yards and a touchdown in the New York Giants' 24-2 win over Atlanta.

Tracy Porter, CB, New Orleans (Indiana) - Led the team with seven tackles in New Orleans' 45-28 win over Detroit.

Amari Spievey, S, Detroit (Iowa) - Made seven tackles in Detroit's 45-28 loss to New Orleans.

Pierre Thomas, RB, New Orleans (Illinois) - Rushed for 66 yards and a touchdown on eight carries and added six catches for 55 yards in New Orleans' 45-28 win over Detroit.

J.J. Watt, DE, Houston (Wisconsin) - Returned an interception 29 yards for a touchdown and added two tackles and a sack in Houston's 31-10 win over Cincinnati.

Over the last three seasons, Illinois and Iowa have each won two bowl games, while Michigan, Michigan State, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue and Wisconsin have each claimed one bowl victory.

The Big Ten and SEC are the only conferences in the nation with nine current members claiming at least one bowl win over the last three seasons.

Big Ten teams have a long tradition of bowl success, as Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio State and Penn State are four of 11 teams in the nation that have played in 41 or more bowl games in their programs' history.

The Big Ten sent a record 10 teams to bowl games this season, the highest total of any conference in the country.

Of those games, eight were against schools from BCS automatic qualifying conferences with three vs. the SEC, two each against the Big 12 and Pac-12, and one against the ACC. The Big Ten's bowl opponents also included five teams ranked in the BCS top 16, the highest total of any conference.

Despite this difficult schedule, and despite playing five games that were in the home states of their opponents, Big Ten teams posted a 4-6 bowl record, marking the second time in three seasons that the Big Ten recorded four bowl wins. The Big Ten is one of just four conferences to post four or more wins this bowl season.

Among BCS automatic qualifying conferences, the Big Ten ranks third in win total this bowl season. Big Ten teams went 4-6, while the Big 12 went 6-2, and the SEC will finish the season 6-3. The Big East went 3-2, the Pac-12 went 2-5, and the ACC went 2-6.

Including this year's record, Big Ten teams have won 10 bowl games over the last three seasons and have posted at least three bowl victories in seven of the last 10 seasons. The last time the Big Ten won 10 or more bowl games over a three-year span was following the 2002-04 campaigns.

Check back tomorrow for more information on the Big Ten in bowl competition.

Big Ten teams have played in more BCS games than any other conference and have compiled 11 wins in those games, which ranks second only to the SEC.

The Big Ten has won three BCS games over the last three seasons, which ranks second only to the SEC, which will have four BCS wins at the end of this season. The last time the Big Ten earned three BCS wins in a three-year span was after the 2003, 2004 and 2005 seasons.

The Big Ten and SEC are also the only two conferences that have seen three different schools take home BCS bowl trophies in the last three years, as Michigan claimed this year's Sugar Bowl, Iowa won the 2010 Orange Bowl, and Ohio State won the 2010 Rose Bowl Game.

Overall, eight current Big Ten schools have participated in BCS bowl games, which ranks second only to the Pac-12's total of nine. Additionally, the Big Ten lays claim to three of the 15 programs which have won multiple BCS games. Ohio State leads the nation with five BCS wins, while Michigan and Wisconsin each have two.

Check back tomorrow for more information on the Big Ten in bowl competition.

With 101 former student-athletes from current Big Ten schools appearing on NFL playoff rosters, the Big Ten is one of three conferences with 100 or more players in the upcoming playoffs. The SEC (128) and ACC (110) also boast more than 100 former players in the NFL playoffs, followed by the Pac-12 (83), Big 12 (60) and Big East (41). The Big Ten is also one of two conferences to have nine schools with eight or more players on playoff rosters, and one of three to have every school in the conference with at least two players on playoff rosters. Only 18 college football programs will feature 11 or more former players taking the field in the NFL playoffs, including Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin. The Buckeyes lead all Big Ten teams and are tied for third among all schools with 17 former players taking the field. The Wolverines are tied for 10th nationally with 13 standouts and the Badgers are tied for 15th with 11 players. Illinois, Michigan State and Nebraska each have nine players on playoff rosters, while Iowa, Penn State and Purdue check in with eight. Indiana has four players in the playoffs, while Northwestern has three and Minnesota has two.

Click here to see the complete list of former Big Ten players in the NFL playoffs.

Big Ten teams have traditionally faced tough competition in bowl games and have had success against some of the nation's best. In fact, seven of the Big Ten's 10 bowl wins over the last three years have come against teams ranked in the top 16 of the BCS standings.

Over the past three seasons, the Big Ten has faced 12 teams ranked among the BCS top 16, which is more than any other conference. The SEC will have played 10 top-16 teams, followed by the Pac-12 (9), ACC (5) and Big 12 (4).

There will only be 20 wins over BCS top-16 teams in the past three years, with seven of those wins by Big Ten teams. The Big Ten leads all conferences with seven top-16 wins, while the SEC ranks second, and will have from four to six at the end of the season. No other conference will have more than two top-16 wins in the last three years.

The Big Ten's seven BCS top-16 wins have come from six different programs with Iowa claiming two wins. The Hawkeyes defeated No. 9 Georgia Tech in 2009, while Ohio State knocked off No. 7 Oregon, Penn State defeated No. 12 LSU and Wisconsin triumphed over No. 15 Miami (Fla.) that same season. Iowa also defeated No. 12 Missouri in 2010. This season, Michigan State beat No. 16 Georgia and Michigan won over No. 11 Virginia Tech.
                                                                                                                                                                                            Check back tomorrow for more information on the Big Ten in bowl competition.