MOBILE, Ala. – Head Coach Richie Riley has been named a finalist for the Hugh Durham Award and the Ben Jobe Award, which are bestowed to the top mid major head coaches in the country as well as the top minority head coaches in Division 1 college basketball.
After coming into the season ranked as the No.11 seed in the Sun Belt Preseason Coaches poll, Richie Riley guided the Jags to the first Sun Belt conference regular season championship in 17 years and Joe Gottfried Coach of the Year honors. South Alabama's 21 wins in the regular season are the most in Riley's time with the program and the most by any Jaguar team in the regular season since 2008. Under Riley's direction, South Alabama has picked up four wins over teams ranked inside the top 150 of the NET rankings this season and has turned the Jags into one of the most efficient and defensive-sound teams in the country this year. The Jaguars rank sixth in the country in field goal percentage defense (38.4), 17th in scoring defense (64.3), and 15th in steals per game (9.3). The Jags have excelled at minimizing fouls and converting defensive stops into scoring opportunities. South ranks seventh in the country in fouls per game (13.3), 17th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.59), sixth in turnover margin (4.9+), seventh in turnovers per game (9.2), and 45th in fastbreak points (13.2). The Jags also sit at the top of the Sun Belt in all five of these categories. Additionally, South has won four Sun Belt Conference games this season by 25 points or more. This marks the most 25-point victories by a USA squad in a season since 1998-99.
The Hugh Durham Award is named in honor of the former Florida State, Georgia, and Jacksonville head coach. In eight seasons, 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, ASUN, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Coastal Athletic, CUSA, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, MEAC, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, SWAC, Summit, Sun Belt, WAC, West Coast.
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.
The Ben Jobe Award is named in honor of one of the most iconic coaches in the history of basketball at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He is best known as the head coach of Southern University, a position he held for 12 seasons. He was also head coach at Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Talladega, Tuskegee, and South Carolina State, and was an assistant coach on Bobby Cremins' first staff at Georgia Tech in 1981-82.
His record at Southern was 209-141 and included four NCAA Tournament appearances. He coached the Jaguars to one NIT appearance, five SIAC championships, 11 SWAC titles, and two NAIA Tournament Championships. Perhaps his most memorable moment as a coach was leading No. 15 seed Southern to a 93-78 win over No. 2 Georgia Tech in the first round of the 1993 NCAA Tournament. It stands as one of the great upsets in the event's history.
The recipient of the annual 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.
The 2025 award will be announced in San Antonio, Texas, site of the men's Division I Basketball Championship.
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