Shaw head football coach Deondri Clark was named CIAA Coach of the Year.  Clark, in his second year as Shaw head coach has led the Bears to an 8-2 record and a berth in Saturday's CIAA Championship game.  Clark, 34, now in his second season as head coach of the Bears, led the Bears to a 7-3 mark in its inaugural season of football in the CIAA in 25 years.

Clark, a 1993 graduate of Florida State, was Shaw’s defensive coordinator in 2002.  He led Shaw to an impressive 7-3 record in 2003 as the Bears also finished 4-3 in the CIAA.  Prior to coming to Shaw, Clark was the defensive line coach at Benedict College (2001-02).  Prior to that he was a graduate assistant coach at Michigan State (2000-01) and Central Michigan (1999-2000).  He earned his master’s of arts degree from Central Michigan in 2003.

A native of Winter Garden, FL, Clark was a standout defensive lineman for the Seminoles and legendary Coach Bobby Bowden.  Clark played on four Florida State teams that won bowl games.  His record as a Seminole was 42-7 and Florida State never finished less than #4 in the AP rankings.

Clark was honored at the annual CIAA Football Dinner, held at the Crabtree Marriott in Raleigh.  First team All-CIAA performers Dion McIver, Chirs Peavy, Roberth Rhodes and Shawn Woodard were also recognized.