WACO, Texas - Eastern New Mexico head football coach Art Briles is already up for an award, and the season hasn't started yet.

Briles received a nomination to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame on Tuesday. He is among a list of 20 candidates on the primary ballot. Some of the other football nominees include wide receiver Mike Evans (Galveston, TX), wide receiver Dez Bryant (Galveston, TX), quarterback Johnny Manziel (Tyler, TX), and quarterback Graham Harrell (Brownwood, TX).

Briles, a native of Rule, Texas, has coached football for 40+ years. The 2013 AP College Football Coach of the Year led the University of Houston (2002-07) and Baylor (2008-15) to 10 bowl games and a 99-65 overall record.

With the Bears, Briles compiled a 65-37 mark over eight seasons. His squads won two Big 12 championships and earned six bowl berths. In 2011, quarterback Robert Griffin III won the Heisman Trophy under the guidance of coach Briles.

In Houston, he helped the Cougars go 34-28 over five seasons, including four bowl games and a Conference USA championship.

He has coached four NFL starting quarterbacks - Kevin Kolb, Case Keenum, Robert Griffin III, and Bryce Petty.

At the high school level, Briles holds a record of 185-49-1. He began his head coaching career at Hamlin High School in 1984 and has had stops at Georgetown (1986-87), Stephenville (1988-99), and Mount Vernon (2019-20). With Stephenville, he won four 4A state championships over 12 seasons. Recently, Stephenville ISD built Art Briles Stadium.

Season tickets for ENMU football can be found with the link above.