John Calipari, head coach of the undefeated and top-ranked Kentucky Wildcats, is among the four remaining finalists for the 2015 Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year award, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced today. He is joined by Tony Bennett (University of Virginia), Bo Ryan (University of Wisconsin) and Jay Wright (Villanova University). Bennett won the award in 2007 while at Washington State University and was a finalist in 2013. Calipari is a two-time Naismith Award winner, once at the University of Massachusetts (1996) and the other at the University of Memphis (2008). Wright was the 2006 Naismith Award winner, while Ryan is a two-time finalist (2005, 2007).
The finalists were determined by the Atlanta Tipoff Club’s national voting academy, which based its criteria on the coaches’ performances to this point in the 2014-15 men’s college basketball season. The Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year will be announced on April 5, 2015 at the Naismith Awards Brunch Delivered by UPS in Indianapolis.
The vote was tabulated and certified by the accounting firm of Habif, Arogeti & Wynne, LLP. HA&W is the largest independent accounting firm in Georgia and one of the top 50 firms in the United States.
ABOUT THE FINALISTS:
Tony Bennett, University of Virginia: He became the first coach since Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski in 1999 and 2000 to win back-to-back coach ACC Coach of the Year honors. Bennett won his 200th career game this season, and led Virginia to the first outright ACC regular-season titles in consecutive seasons by a team outside the state of North Carolina in conference history. The Cavaliers are also the first team in ACC history to win 16 conference games in back-to-back seasons. Virginia (29-3) is a No. 2 seed in the East Region of the NCAA Tournament.
John Calipari, University of Kentucky: The SEC coach of the year guided Kentucky to a perfect 31-0 overall regular-season record, including an 18-0 mark in the league, en route to the school’s 46th conference championship. The Wildcats (34-0) also won the SEC Tournament championship and head into the NCAA Tournament as the top overall seed, assigned to the Midwest Region. Calipari has led the Wildcats to its best start in school history, best start for an SEC team, longest overall winning streak in school history and his personal overall longest winning streak.
Bo Ryan, University of Wisconsin: Ryan was voted Big Ten Coach of the Year by the media after leading the Badgers to the 2015 Big Ten regular season championship, his fourth as the Wisconsin head coach, and the Big Ten tournament crown. The 31 wins ties the mark for the most in school history (2007-08). The Badgers head into the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed (West Region) for the first time in school history.
Jay Wright, Villanova University: Wright led Villanova to a single-season school record of 32 wins (32-2 overall), including 16-2 in the conference as the Wildcats claimed their second consecutive Big East crown. Villanova also won the Big East tournament championship. Wright was named the 2015 Big East Coach of the Year, his fourth such honor since 2006. The Wildcats enter the NCAA Tournament as the top seed in the East Region.
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