University of Maine football coach Jack Cosgrove was named Coach of the Year and red-shirt freshman linebacker Christophe Mulumba Defensive Rookie of the Year in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Cosgrove, in his 21st year as head coach at Maine, guided the Black Bears to their best start in program history, a 10-2 overall record and a 7-1 conference record to win their first CAA title and first outright conference title since 1965.

Mulumba was a four-time conference Rookie of the Week selection who led Maine with 105 tackles, sixth in the league, and included a season-high 19 in a 33-27 victory over UAlbany.

The CAA released its end-of-year awards, as determined by a vote of the head coaches, on Tuesday morning.

Athletic directors of the league’s 11 schools voted on the second annual Chuck Boone Leadership Award, presented to Maine senior quarterback Marcus Wasilewski for embodying “the highest standards of leadership, integrity, teamwork and sportsmanship in his academic and athletic achievements.”

Wasilewski also was one of six Black Bears voted to the All-CAA First Team. The others are senior tight end Justin Perillo, senior guard Jeff Gakos and sophomore placekicker Sean Decloux on offense and Mulumba and senior cornerback Kendall James on defense.

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Tackle Joe Hook and defensive end Michael Cole, both seniors, earned spots on the All-CAA Second Team.

Westbrook native Trevor Bates, a sophomore defensive end, and senior John Ebeling, a slot receiver, earned spots on the All-CAA Third Team.

Maine is seeded fifth in the Football Championship Subdivision NCAA Tournament and will host a second-round game Dec. 7 against the winner of Saturday’s game between Lafayette and New Hampshire in Durham.

The conference’s other major award went to Towson junior running back Terrance West (Offensive Player of the Year), James Madison senior linebacker Stephon Robertson (Defensive Player of the Year), William & Mary junior wide receiver and return threat Tre McBride (Special Teams Player of the Year) and Towson freshman running back Darius Victor (Offensive Rookie of the Year).


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