University of Houston Athletics
Photo by: Stephen Pinchback
Kelvin Sampson Receives John McLendon Award
4/3/2024 3:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Head coach collects National Coach of the Year honor for second time in his 10-year career with the Cougars
HOUSTON – For the second time in his career, University of Houston Men's Basketball Head Coach Kelvin Sampson was honored as the recipient of the John McLendon Award, presented annually to the top collegiate head coach in Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA and NJCAA.Sampson first received the John McLendon Award following the 2020-21 season after leading the Cougars to the sixth NCAA Final Four appearance in program history and the first since 1984.
The John McLendon Award is named in honor of one of the greatest coaches in the history of the sport. A trailblazer and one of the true pioneers of the game, McLendon became the first African American coach to win an integrated national championship. His team won the NAIA Division I Men's Tournament in 1957, 1958 and 1959, making him the first coach in history to win three consecutive NAIA championships.
The recipient of the award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of CollegeInsider.com.
This marked the fourth National Coach of the Year honor that Sampson earned during the 2023-24 season, In late March, he received the Henry Iba Award, presented annually by the United States Basketball Writers Association and was named National Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and Field of 68.
Sampson also is a Finalist for the Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year, which will be presented at the NCAA Final Four in Phoenix this weekend.
ABOUT KELVIN SAMPSON
Under Sampson's leadership, Houston posted a 32-5 overall record and captured the Big 12 regular-season championship by two games in the Cougars' first year in the league in 2023-24.
Finishing his 35th season overall and his 10th season at Houston, Sampson has placed the Cougars among the nation's elite during his tenure.
His Cougars competed as the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament South Region – the second straight season Houston earned a region's top seed – and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the fifth consecutive season. Houston joined Gonzaga as the only schools to compete in each of the last five NCAA Tournament Sweet 16s.
Houston leads the nation in scoring defense (57.6 ppg), turnover margin (6.9), field goal percentage defense (37.9, 1st) and ranks among the country's Top 10 in turnovers per game (8.9, 7th), scoring margin (+15.9, 3rd) and steals per game (9.8, 8th).
Under Sampson's leadership, Houston has been ranked for a school-record 84 consecutive weeks, including each of the last 39 weeks in the Top 10, another program best.
In addition to the national coaching accolades, Sampson also was named the Big 12 Coach of the Year by the league office and the Associated Press and was recognized as the NABC District 8 Coach of the Year This marked the third straight season (in the second different league) in which Sampson was named the Conference Coach of the Year and the fifth time in the last seven years.
During his career, Sampson has been named a Conference Coach of the Year nine times from five different leagues. That total includes one Big 12 (2023-24), four American Athletic (2022-23, 2021-22, 2018-19 and 2017-18), one Big Eight (1994-95), one Pac-10 (1990-91) and two Frontier League (1984-85, 1982-83).
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