Men’s basketball coach named finalist for Hugh Durham Award for coach of the year

March 28, 2014 | Athletics, News
By Steve Easton



Head Coach Tod Kowalczyk is one of 15 finalists for the 2014 Hugh Durham award, according to CollegeInsider.com.

“It is always so difficult to limit the list of finalists,” said CollegeInsider.com’s Angela Lento. “This list could easily include 25-plus names.

Kowalczyk

Kowalczyk

Kowalczyk guided the Rockets to a school-record 27 victories, a figure that ranks fourth in Mid-American Conference history, as well as a share of the program’s eighth MAC regular-season title.

Toledo opened its season with 12 straight victories, matching the second-best start in school history, before dropping a 93-83 decision at national power Kansas.

UT also set school records for most points (2,694), free throws made (643), free throws attempted (887), and was second in school history in field goals made (929) and fourth in assists (509) and blocked shots (101).

The Rockets are set to return four starters from their record-setting squad for the 2014-15 campaign, including first-team All-MAC honoree Julius Brown (14.9 points per game, 6.0 assists per game) and third-team All-MAC selection Justin Drummond (14.2 points per game, 5.2 rebounds per game).

The Hugh Durham Award is given annually to the nation’s top mid-major coach. The award is named in honor of Durham, who retired at the end of the 2004-05 season. Durham is one of just 12 coaches to have led two different programs to the NCAA Final Four (Florida State in 1972 and Georgia in 1983). He is the only coach among that group to have led both schools to their lone Final Four appearance.



The winner of the 2014 Durham award will be announced at the CollegeInsider.com Awards Banquet April 4 in Dallas, site of the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship.



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