THE BEN JOBE AWARD

Reggie Minton (NABC) presents the 2012 Ben Jobe Award, to Mississippi Valley State head coach Sean Woods, at the CollegeInsider.com Award Banquet in New Orleans.


March 30, 2012

SEAN WOODS WINS THE 2012 BEN JOBE AWARD

NEW ORLEANS, LA -- Mississippi Valley State's Sean Woods is the recipient of the 2012 Ben Jobe award.

Woods, the SWAC Coach of the Year, led the Delta Devils to one of their most memorable seasons in school history. Valley went on a 17-game win streak (second in the nation) and won the SWAC Tournament for the first time since 2008.

"To take a team, which started 1-11, to the NCAA Tournament is nothing short of remarkable," said Angela Lento, co-founder of CollegeInsider.com. "Sean Woods is one of the bright young stars in coaching."

The Ben Jobe Award is presented annually to the top minority coach in division I men's basketball. Coach Jobe is an icon in the history of basketball at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He is best known as the head coach of the Southern University, a position he held for 12 seasons. He has also head coach at Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Talladega, Tuskegee and South Carolina State.

His record at Southern was 209-141 and included four NCAA Tournament appearances. He also coached the Jaguars to one NIT appearance, five SIAC championships, 11 SWAC titles and two NAIA Tournament Championships. Perhaps his most memorable moment as a coach was Southern's 93-78 win over Georgia Tech in the first round of the 1993 NCAA Tournament. It stands as one of the great upsets in the history of the event.

The award was presented at the CollegeInsider.com awards banquet in New Orleans, site of the men's NCAA Basketball Championship.

2012 BEN JOBE AWARD FINALISTS

Jerome Allen Penn
Tommy Amaker Harvard
Roman Banks Southern
Rod Barnes Cal State Bakersfield
Horace Broadnax Savannah State
David Carter Nevada
John Cooper Tennessee State
Anthony Evans Norfolk State
Bruiser Flint Drexel
Frank Haith Missouri
Leonard Hamilton Florida State
Stan Heath South Florida
Ron Hunter Georgia State
Sydney Johnson Fairfield
Ray McCallum Detroit
Shaka Smart VCU
John Thompson III Georgetown
Gary Waters Cleveland State
Reggie Witherspoon Buffalo
Sean Woods Mississippi Valley State
Charlton Young Georgia Southern

The Ben Jobe Award, which is presented annually to the top Division I minority coach, is named in honor of one of the finest men to ever college basketball.
 
Coach Jobe is an icon in the history of basketball at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He is best known as the head coach of the Southern University, a position he held for 12 seasons. He was also head coach at Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Talladega, Tuskegee and South Carolina State.
 
His record at Southern was 209-141 and included four NCAA Tournament appearances. He also coached the Jaguars to one NIT appearance, five SIAC championships, 11 SWAC titles and two NAIA Tournament Championships.

Perhaps his most memorable moment as a coach was leading No. 15 seed Southern to a 93-78 win over No. 2 Georgia Tech in the first round of the 1993 NCAA Tournament. It stands as one of the great upsets in the history of the event.
 
The Ben Jobe award voting panel is made up of current division I coaches, athletic administrators, and senior College Insider staff members.  The recipient of the 2024-25 award will be announced in April, in San Antonio, TX site of the men's Division I NCAA Basketball Championship.
 

The Ben Jobe award is presented annually to top minority coach in division I college basketball, as voted on by the award committee.
 
The 10-member voting committee consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of collegeinsider.com.
 
The award is presented annually at the site of the men's Division I NCAA basketball championship. 

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