April 1, 2022

ROBERT JONES WINS 2022 AWARD

NEW ORLEANS, LA -- Norfolk State coach Robert Jones is the 2022 recipient of the Hugh Durham Award, presented annually to the top Division I mid-major college basketball coach.

Jones, 42, led Norfolk State to its second consecutive MEAC tournament championship and NCAA tournament appearance. The Spartans were 24-7 overall and claimed the MEAC regular season title with a 12-2 record. NSU began the 2021-22 with a 9-1 record, which is the best start in MEAC history, through the first ten games of the season.

Norfolk State won at least 11 conference games for the eighth time in nine seasons under Jones, who has a 166-126 career record.

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.

2021-22 HUGH DURHAM AWARD FINALISTS