NEW ROCHELLE, NY – Iona College men’s basketball head coach Rick Pitino was named a finalist for the 2022 Hugh Durham National Coach of the Year Award, it was announced last week by CollegeInsider.com.
In his second season with the Maroon & Gold, Pitino led the Gaels to 25 overall wins and a 17-3 record in conference play. The overall win total marked the seventh time in program history Iona has won at least 25 games. The 17 MAAC victories mark matched a school record and the second-most in league history. Pitino was named MAAC Coach of the Year for his efforts while also mentoring four All-MAAC performers including first teamers Tyson Jolly, and Nelly Junior Joseph, second teamer Elijah Joiner and All-Rookie performer Walter Clayton Jr. Jolly was the league’s Player of the Year while Dylan van Eyck was named Sixth Player of the Year.
Pitino is one of 20 finalists for the honor, which will be announced on April 1 in New Orleans, site of the Men’s Division I Basketball Championship.
The Hugh Durham award, is presented annually to the top Division I mid-major coach in college basketball, is named after a coach who built winning programs at three different universities.
In eight seasons as the head coach at Jacksonville University, Durham became the Dolphins’ all-time winningest Division I coach (106 wins), making him the only coach in NCAA history to be the winningest coach (pct. or wins) at three different Division I schools.
He built national programs at Florida State where he holds the record for best winning percentage with a 230-95 (.708) record in 12 years. And at Georgia where he is also the all-time winningest coach in the 99-year history of the Bulldog program, having won 297 games in 17 seasons.
Coaches of teams in the following conferences are eligible for the award: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast.
