Naismith Award Goes To Boeheim

ATLANTA – Syracuse University's Jim Boeheim, who guided the Orange to a 30-5 record and the NCAA Tournament, has been named the 2010 Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced April 6.

He won out over finalists Steve Alford (University of New Mexico), John Calipari (University of Kentucky) and Frank Martin (Kansas State University), and becomes the fourth Big East conference coach to win the award, following Ben Howland (University of Pittsburgh, 2002), Jay Wright (Villanova University, 2006) and last year's winner, Jamie Dixon (University of Pittsburgh).

Boeheim was selected by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's National Voting Academy, a collection of leading basketball journalists, coaches and administrators from around the country, which based their criteria on coaching performances throughout the season. The vote was tabulated and certified by the accounting firm of Habif, Arogeti & Wynne, LLP. HA&W is the largest independent accounting firm in Georgia and one of the top 50 firms in the United States.

“This season clearly illustrated why Jim is one of the top coaches in his profession,” said Gary Stokan, Atlanta Tipoff Club president. “His ability to take good teams and make them great is what he does best, and we congratulate him for winning this prestigious award.”

“This is really a tremendous honor,” said Boeheim. “It is a reflection of the great team I was privileged to coach this year.”

Syracuse went 30-5 overall and won the BIG EAST Conference regular-season championship with a 15-3 record. The Orange was ranked No. 1 during the season for the first time since 1989-90. Boeheim recorded his 800^th career win at the beginning of the season, and guided Syracuse into the NCAA Tournament for the 27^th time. Boeheim ranks sixth all-time and second among active coaches in Division I victories with 829. He is tied for seventh in Division I NCAA Tournament wins with 44. Boeheim has posted an NCAA Division I record 32 20-win seasons, two better than second-place holder Dean Smith.

Boeheim has also been honored as coach of the year by the Assoicated Press, FoxSports.com, the National Association of Basketball Coaches, Sporting News, the United States Basketball Writers Association, Yahoo!Sports. He was also named BIG EAST Conference Coach of the Year.

The Naismith Award, presented annually to the top men's college coach, is the most prestigious national coaching award in college basketball. Indiana's Bob Knight won the inaugural Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year award in 1987. For more information, visit www.naismithawards.com.

Syracuse University Athletics

Related News

Related Videos