MIAMI – FIU men's basketball Head Coach
Jeremy Ballard has been named a finalist for the Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year Award.
In his first season at the helm of the Panthers, Ballard has guided FIU to its first winning season – 19-12 overall and 10-8 in Conference USA play – since 2012-13 (18-14) and only its second winning campaign since 1999-00 (16-14). Since going to Division I to start the 1986-87 campaign, and including this season, the Panthers have recorded just six seasons with an overall record of .500-or-better. FIU's 19 wins are the third most since moving to Division I, while it's 10 C-USA victories are the fourth most league wins in program history.
Ballard will lead FIU into the 2019 Air Force Reserve C-USA Basketball Championships presented by Baylor Scott & White Sports Performance Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, which begins on Wednesday, March 13. The Panthers, seeded No. 7, their highest seed since joining C-USA, begin play in the championships when they take on the No. 10 seed North Texas at 9:30 p.m. ET. The winner faces the No. 2 seed, WKU, on Thursday at 9:30 p.m.
About the Joe B. Hall Award
The award, presented annually to the top first-year coach in Division I college basketball, is named in the honor of Joe B. Hall who was given the task of following the legendary Adolph Rupp. In his first season at the University of Kentucky, Hall finished 20-8, won the SEC and advanced to the NCAA Regional Finals.
From 1972 to 1985 Hall would win two-thirds of his games (297-100), receive four SEC Coach of the Year honors and win a National Championship (1978). Along with the 1978 title, Hall also guided Kentucky to a runner-up finish to UCLA in the 1975 NCAA tournament, a Final Four appearance in the 1984 NCAA Tournament and an NIT championship in 1976. He won 8 Southeastern Conference regular season championships and one Southeastern Conference tournament championship (1984).
Hall is one of only three men to win an NCAA championship as a player (1949- Kentucky) and coach (1978- Kentucky). The only others to achieve this feat are Bob Knight and Dean Smith.
The recipient of the 2019 Joe B. Hall award will be announced on April 5 at the College Insider Awards Event, in Minneapolis, site of the 2019 NCAA Division I basketball championship.
2019 JOE B. HALL AWARD FINALISTS
Griff Aldrich, Longwood
Jeremy Ballard, FIU
David Cox, Rhode Island
Darian DeVries, Drake
Penny Hardaway, Memphis
Tavaras Hardy, Loyola
Justin Hutson, Fresno State
Dusty May, FAU
Chris Ogden, UT Arlington
Richie Riley, South Alabama
Sam Scholl, San Diego
Travis Steele, Xavier
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