University of Houston Athletics
Kelvin Sampson Named Finalist for Ben Jobe Award
3/14/2019 5:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Honor presented annually to nation’s top NCAA Division I minority coach
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – University of Houston Men's Basketball Head Coach Kelvin Sampson was named a Finalist for the Ben Jobe Award on Thursday afternoon,
The honor is presented annually to the top minority coach in NCAA Division I Men's Basketball. The Ben Jobe Award recipient will be announced on April 5 at the College Insider Awards Event in Minneapolis.
Jobe is best known as the head coach at Southern University for 12 years and is an icon in the history of basketball at Historically Black College and Universities.
ABOUT KELVIN SAMPSON
In 2018-19, Sampson has led the Cougars to a 29-2 record, the program's first outright regular-season conference championship since 1984 and Top-10 rankings in both national polls.
His Houston team won its first 15 games to open the season for the program's third-longest winning streak in school history and followed that with a 12-game streak after enduring its first loss at Temple in early January.
After winning 19 straight games in H&PE Arena as their home arena underwent a $60-million renovation, Sampson's Cougars won their first 14 home games in the Fertitta Center and owned the nation's longest home winning streak at 33 games until late February.
With the Cougars' win at SMU in mid-January, Sampson became only the 52nd coach in NCAA history to reach 600 victories in his career. That win also gave him 100 in his Houston career and made him the fastest coach in UH history to reach that total.
Earlier this week, Sampson became only the second coach in program history to win consecutive conference Coach of the Year honors and the first since Hall of Fame Coach Guy V. Lewis accomplished the feat in 1983-84 in the Southwest Conference.
With Wednesday's American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year award, Sampson collected his sixth conference Coach of the Year award from his fourth league. In addition to the two with Houston in The American, Sampson also received accolades in 1995 (Big Eight, Oklahoma); 1991 (Pac-10, Washington State) and 1985 and 1983 (Frontier, Montana Tech).
Sampson first earned the honor with the Cougars in 2017-18 after leading Houston to a 27-8 overall record, a second-place finish in the league and the program's first NCAA Tournament win since 1984.
BEN JOBE AWARD FINALISTS
Tommy Amaker, Harvard
Jeremy Ballard, FIU
Johnny Dawkins, UCF
Travis DeCuire, Montana
Patrick Ewing, Georgetown
Jason Gardner, IUPUI
Earl Grant, Charleston
Leonard Hamilton, Florida State
Penny Hardaway, Memphis
Lew Hill, UT Rio Grande Valley
Michael Huger, Bowling Green
Ron Hunter, Georgia State
Justin Hutson, Fresno State
Donte' Jackson, Grambling
James Jones, Yale
Johnny Jones, Texas Southern
Mike Jones, Radford
Robert Jones, Norfolk State
Jay Joyner, North Carolina A&T
Dave Leitao, DePaul
Ritchie McKay, Liberty
Robert McCullum, Florida A&M
Richie Riley, South Alabama
Kelvin Sampson, Houston
Byron Smith, Prairie View A&M
The honor is presented annually to the top minority coach in NCAA Division I Men's Basketball. The Ben Jobe Award recipient will be announced on April 5 at the College Insider Awards Event in Minneapolis.
Jobe is best known as the head coach at Southern University for 12 years and is an icon in the history of basketball at Historically Black College and Universities.
ABOUT KELVIN SAMPSON
In 2018-19, Sampson has led the Cougars to a 29-2 record, the program's first outright regular-season conference championship since 1984 and Top-10 rankings in both national polls.
His Houston team won its first 15 games to open the season for the program's third-longest winning streak in school history and followed that with a 12-game streak after enduring its first loss at Temple in early January.
After winning 19 straight games in H&PE Arena as their home arena underwent a $60-million renovation, Sampson's Cougars won their first 14 home games in the Fertitta Center and owned the nation's longest home winning streak at 33 games until late February.
With the Cougars' win at SMU in mid-January, Sampson became only the 52nd coach in NCAA history to reach 600 victories in his career. That win also gave him 100 in his Houston career and made him the fastest coach in UH history to reach that total.
Earlier this week, Sampson became only the second coach in program history to win consecutive conference Coach of the Year honors and the first since Hall of Fame Coach Guy V. Lewis accomplished the feat in 1983-84 in the Southwest Conference.
With Wednesday's American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year award, Sampson collected his sixth conference Coach of the Year award from his fourth league. In addition to the two with Houston in The American, Sampson also received accolades in 1995 (Big Eight, Oklahoma); 1991 (Pac-10, Washington State) and 1985 and 1983 (Frontier, Montana Tech).
Sampson first earned the honor with the Cougars in 2017-18 after leading Houston to a 27-8 overall record, a second-place finish in the league and the program's first NCAA Tournament win since 1984.
BEN JOBE AWARD FINALISTS
Tommy Amaker, Harvard
Jeremy Ballard, FIU
Johnny Dawkins, UCF
Travis DeCuire, Montana
Patrick Ewing, Georgetown
Jason Gardner, IUPUI
Earl Grant, Charleston
Leonard Hamilton, Florida State
Penny Hardaway, Memphis
Lew Hill, UT Rio Grande Valley
Michael Huger, Bowling Green
Ron Hunter, Georgia State
Justin Hutson, Fresno State
Donte' Jackson, Grambling
James Jones, Yale
Johnny Jones, Texas Southern
Mike Jones, Radford
Robert Jones, Norfolk State
Jay Joyner, North Carolina A&T
Dave Leitao, DePaul
Ritchie McKay, Liberty
Robert McCullum, Florida A&M
Richie Riley, South Alabama
Kelvin Sampson, Houston
Byron Smith, Prairie View A&M
UP NEXT
• Sampson and the Cougars return to action in the Air Force Reserve American Athletic Conference Championship this weekend.
• The Cougars face No. 9 seed UConn at 11 a.m., Friday, inside FedExForum in Memphis, Tenn. That game can be seen on ESPN2 and heard on KPRC 950 AM.
JOIN the 50-50-CLUB
Fans are invited to join the 50-50 Club to support Houston Men's Basketball. 50-50 Club members help fund program necessities and enhance the experience for our student-athletes.
Fans who join the 50-50 Club will receive embroidered team apparel, a signed basketball, invitations to practice, a tour of the $25 million Guy V. Lewis Development Facility, regular updates about the program and much more.
To join the 50-50 Club, fans can call 713-743-9742 or email UHMensBasketball@uh.edu. For more information about the 50-50 Club, levels of giving and benefits, fans can click here.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive updates by following @UHCougarMBK on Twitter and catch up with the latest news and notes on the team by clicking LIKE on the team' Facebook page at UHCougarMBK or by visiting the team's Instagram page at UHCougarMBK.
– UHCougars.com –
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