Wisconsin football: Defensive coordinator Dave Aranda named Broyles Award nominee

Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Aranda was named one of the nominees for the 2015 Broyles Award on Wednesday, given annually to the nation's best college football assistant coach. It was announced via the Broyles Award on its official Twitter handle.

In his three years at Wisconsin, Aranda's reinvented a Badgers defense into one of the nation's best. His players, now under a 3-4 base defense, have only allowed 16.8 points per game, trailing only Alabama (15.7) for best in the nation over that span. They lead the nation in total defense in the past three seasons, giving up only 289.8 yards per contest.

This season alone, Wisconsin's held opponents to only 12.4 points per game -- best in the FBS. Opponents are only converted on 31.3 percent of their third-down conversions, which currently ranks fifth all-time in school history through 11 games this season.

2015 #BroylesAward Nominee: Dave Aranda (@CoachDaveAranda), Defensive Coordinator, Wisconsin (@UWBadgers, @BadgerFootball)

— BROYLES AWARD (@BroylesAward) November 25, 2015

Former Wisconsin tight end Sean Lewis, now an assistant coach at Bowling Green, was also named a nominee for the award on Wednesday.

Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst was a finalist in 2010 and 2011 when he was UW's offensive coordinator, as was former head coach Gary Andersen in 2008 as an assistant at Utah.

The five finalists will be announced on Monday, November 30. The 2015 Broyles Award will be presented by the Rotary Club of Little Rock on December 8, 2015 at the Marriott Hotel in Little Rock, Ark.

Here's the full press release via TwitLonger:

Press Release: Nominees Announced for 2015 Broyles Award (Final)
November 25, 2015

What: The Rotary Club of Little Rock is pleased to announce the nominees for the 2015 Broyles Award:

• Alabama - Kirby Smart, Defensive Coordinator/Inside Linebackers
• Appalachian State - Nate Woody, Defensive Coordinator
• Arkansas - Dan Enos, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
• Arkansas State - Joe Cauthen, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
• Baylor - Kendal Briles, Offensive Coordinator
• Boston College - Don Brown, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
• Bowling Green State - Sean Lewis, Co-Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
• Central Michigan - Greg Colby, Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers
• Clemson - Brent Venables, Defensive Coordinator, Linebackers
• Colorado State - Will Friend, Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line
• Florida - Geoff Collins, Defensive Coordinator
• Florida State - Charles Kelly, Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs
• Georgia Southern - Dell McGee, Running Backs
• Georgia State - Jesse Minter, Defensive Coordinator
• Houston - Todd Orlando, Defensive Coordinator
• Indiana - Greg Frey, Co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line
• Iowa - Greg Davis, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach
• Louisiana Tech - Tony Petersen, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
• Marshall - Chuck Heater, Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Backs
• Memphis - Brad Cornelsen, Co-Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
• Michigan - Tim Drevno, Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line
• Mississippi State - Brian Johnson, Quarterbacks
• Navy - Dale Pehrson, Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Line
• NC State - Ryan Nielsen, Defensive Line
• North Carolina - Gene Chizik, Defensive Coordinator
• Ole Miss - Dan Werner, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
• Oklahoma - Lincoln Riley, Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
• South Florida - Danny Hope, Co-Offensive Coordinator/Run Game
• Temple - Phil Snow, Defensive Coordinator
• Toledo - Jon Heacock, Defensive Coordinator
• Troy - Vic Koenning, Defensive Coordinator
• UCLA - Noel Mazzone, Offensive Coordinator
• USC - Tee Martin, WR/Pass Game Coordinator
• Utah State - Dave Ungerer, Special Teams Coordinator/Running Backs
• Washington State University - Alex Grinch, Defensive Coordinator/Secondary
• Wisconsin - Dave Aranda, Defensive Coordinator

More information:
The five finalists will be announced on Monday, November, 30. The 2015 Broyles Award winner will be announced on Tuesday, December 8th at 11:30 a.m. at the Marriott Hotel in Little Rock, AR. The Broyles Award is presented by The Rotary Club of Little Rock and Delta Dental.

"This will be one of the most challenging years ever for our selection committee to choose the top 5 finalists and winner, so many assistant coaches did outstanding work this year," David Bazzel, Broyles Award executive director.

The winner of the 2014 Broyles Award was Tom Herman, Ohio State. The Broyles Award honors the top assistant college football coach in America and was established in 1996 to honor legendary Arkansas Head Coach Frank Broyles. Coach Broyles had a track record of producing some of the most successful assistant coaches in college football history.

The Broyles Award is a member of the National College Football Awards Association (NCFAA) which encompasses the most prestigious awards in college football. The 21 awards boast 699 years of tradition-selection excellence. Visit www.NCFAA.org to learn more about our story.

For more information, visit www.BroylesAward.com or search for Broyles Award on Facebook and Twitter. Use #BroylesAward to follow along with the event.