Portland State Head Football Coach Nigel Burton is one of 20 coaches nationwide that has been named as a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award, the highest coaching honor in NCAA I FCS football.

The Sports Network released the list of finalists today, which includes Burton, who got the Vikings within one game of serious playoff consideration this season. PSU was 7-4 overall, a five-game improvement over 2010.

Burton is one of two Big Sky Conference Coaches on the ballot for the FCS Coach of the Year award. Also listed is Montana's Robin Pflugrad.

This marks the second time that a Viking coach has been a finalist for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award. Tim Walsh was a finalist in 1999 after leading the Vikings to an 8-3 record - their first winning mark after moving to the Division I level. Walsh finished fifth in the balloting that year.

Here is the release from the Sports Network:

Successful coaches on Eddie Robinson Award ballot
 
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Coaches who combined for 14 conference
championships this season are among the 20 finalists announced Monday for the
25th Eddie Robinson Award, which honors the national coach of the year in the
Football Championship Subdivision.
 
The winner of the Robinson Award, presented by The Sports Network and
sponsored by Fathead.com, will be announced at the national awards banquet on
Friday, Jan. 6 in Frisco, Texas - the night before the national championship
game.
 
A panel of over 150 sports information and media relations directors,
broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries will select the Robinson Award
winner.
 
Voting will reflect only the regular season. The FCS playoffs begin Saturday.
 
The 20 Eddie Robinson Award finalists are:
 
Pete Adrian, Norfolk State - Adrian led the Spartans to a 9-2 regular-season
record and their first outright Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championship
as well as their first FCS playoff bid. The Spartans were picked fifth in the
MEAC's preseason poll.
 
Rob Ambrose, Towson - After finishing 3-19 in his first two seasons at Towson,
Ambrose led the Tigers to a 9-2 record and their first CAA Football title and
FCS playoff bid. The Tigers were picked last in the CAA's preseason poll.
 
Craig Bohl, North Dakota State - The Bison enter the FCS playoffs as Missouri
Valley Football Conference co-champions and with the No. 2 seed. They went
10-1 in the regular season and spent time at No. 1.
 
Watson Brown, Tennessee Tech - The Golden Eagles had losing records in five of
the last six seasons, but Brown has led them to a 7-3 record, a share of their
first Ohio Valley Conference title since 1975 and the conference's automatic
playoff bid.
 
Nigel Burton, Portland State - In Burton's second season, the Vikings improved
by five wins to 7-4 while tying for third place in the Big Sky Conference.
They were picked seventh in the conference's preseason poll.
 
Ron Caragher, San Diego - The Toreros overcame back-to-back losing seasons by
finishing 9-2 for the third time in Caragher's five seasons. They shared the
Pioneer Football League championship with Drake.
 
Andy Coen, Lehigh - Coen guided the Mountain Hawks to their second straight
perfect season in the Patriot League, finishing 10-1 overall in the regular
season. They earned a first-round bye in the FCS playoffs.
 
Clint Conque, Central Arkansas - The new purple and gray field at Central
Arkansas didn't just dizzy opponents, Conque's 8-3 squad was up to the task
as it qualified for the FCS playoffs. The Bears' only Southland Conference
loss was to unbeaten Sam Houston State.
 
Chris Creighton, Drake - Creighton took his squad from an offseason trip to
Africa to a share of the Pioneer Football League championship with San Diego.
The Bulldogs finished 9-2 for their best record in Creighton's four seasons.
 
Bob Ford, Albany - Ford earned his 250th career win en route to the Great
Danes going 8-3 and capturing a share of the Northeast Conference title and
their first playoff bid. Ford has coached at Albany for 42 seasons.
 
Willie Fritz, Sam Houston State - The Bearkats were the only unbeaten FCS team
in the regular season, finishing 11-0 with a win over FBS New Mexico. In
Fritz's second season, the Southland Conference champions are ranked No. 1
heading into the playoffs, where they are the top seed.
 
Gary Harrell, Howard - The Bison improved from 1-10 to 5-6 in Harrell's first
season, including a 4-4 mark in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. They had
a 27-game conference losing streak entering the season.
 
Anthony Jones, Alabama A&M - The Bulldogs reversed a 3-8 finish in 2010 by
going 8-3, qualifying for the Southwestern Athletic Conference Championship
Game for the fifth time in Jones' 10 seasons. They had a seven-game winning
streak after an 0-2 start.
 
Kevin Kelly, Georgetown - Hoya Paranoia found its way to the gridiron as Kelly
led his team to its first winning season (8-3) since 1999 despite playing only
four home games. Their 3-2 Patriot record was their best since joining the
league in 2001.
 
Jeff Monken, Georgia Southern - The Eagles won the Southern Conference title
with a 9-2 record and spent seven weeks as the FCS' top-ranked team. They
earned the third seed for the playoffs.
 
Tim Murphy, Harvard - Murphy won his sixth Ivy League title while guiding the
Crimson to a 9-1 record. They went 7-0 in league games, finishing three games
ahead of the four second-place teams.
 
Chris Mussman, North Dakota - The Fighting Sioux captured a share of the final
Great West Football Conference title, reversing a 3-8 record in 2010 with an
8-3 mark this season. Two of the losses were against FBS teams.
 
Robin Pflugrad, Montana - After the Grizzlies' 17-year playoff run ended last
year, Pflugrad has taken them back as the Big Sky Conference co-champion. They
won their final seven games in the regular season to improve to 9-2.
 
Chuck Priore, Stony Brook - The Seawolves overcame an 0-3 start (including
losses to two FBS schools) to earn their first outright Big South Conference
title and bid to the playoffs. They ended the regular season with an 8-3 mark.
 
Bobby Wilder, Old Dominion - In the Monarchs' first season in the rugged CAA,
they went 9-2 overall and tied for second place. They secured their first
playoff bid in just their third season as a program.