Sellers Named a Finalist for Trio of National Coach of the Year Awards
Central Connecticut men's basketball head coach Patrick Sellers was recognized as a finalist for a pair of national awards it was announced by CollegeInsider.com. Sellers was named among the finalists for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year, Ben Jobe and Hugh Durham awards. In his fourth season in charge of his alma mater, Sellers has guided the Blue Devils to consecutive Northeast Conference regular season titles.
BEN JOBE AWARD NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR
HUGH DURHAM NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD
SKIP PROSSER MAN OF THE YEAR AWARD
Sellers hasn't just reignited the CCSU program, he's brought back the swagger of the revered Blue Devil teams from the early 2000s. In his fourth season at the helm, the CCSU alum guided his squad to back-to-back NEC regular season titles for the first time in program history, this time with a dominant 14-2 record. The Blue Devils locked up the No. 1 seed in the NEC Tournament with a week to spare and will enter the postseason as one of the hottest teams in the nation. CCSU has rattled off 12 straight wins - the longest active streak in the country - and their nine-game road win streak ranks second nationally. Their 12 road victories? Tied for the most in the country. And at 23-6, CCSU has also notched consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time as a DI program. The Blue Devils turned heads early with statement wins at Saint Joseph's and UMass, and finished non-conference play with an NEC-record-tying nine victories. Now, their focus shifts to the NEC Tournament and the program's first conference championship since 2007. Sellers has built a team that thrives on both ends, leading the NEC in offensive efficiency (110.2) while ranking second in defensive efficiency (92.2) during league play. CCSU's +9.8 scoring margin in conference action is the highest by an NEC team in 13 years. Beyond the numbers, the bigger picture is just as striking. Sellers became the first NEC coach to earn back-to-back Jim Phelan Coach of the Year honors since RMU's Mike Rice (2007-08, 2008-09), and he joined his mentor and CCSU legend Howie Dickenman (2005-06, 2006-07) in that elite club.
The Ben Jobe Award is presented annually to the top minority head coach in division I college basketball. Sellers was named one of 25 finalists for the honor. The Ben Jobe award is named in honor of one 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. 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 Hugh Durham Award is presented annually to the top mid-major head coach in college basketball. Sellers was included among a list of 20 finalists. 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. 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 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 Skip Prosser Man of the Year award honors those who not only achieve success on the basketball court but who display moral integrity on and off it as well. In six years at Wake Forest, Prosser posted a 126-68 record. For his career, he was 291-146 in 14 seasons including six as the head coach at Xavier and one year at Loyola (Md.). At Wake Forest, Prosser's teams averaged 21 wins per season while playing in arguably the nation's most difficult league, the Atlantic Coast Conference. Prosser won 100 games at an ACC school quicker than all but two coaches in the 55-year history of the conference. He coached NBA stars Chris Paul and Josh Howard, led the Demon Deacons to the first No. 1 national ranking in school history and earned ACC Coach of the Year honors in 2003. Prosser passed away of an apparent heart attack on July 26, 2007 in his office at Wake Forest. He had just returned from his morning jog
The 2025 awards will be announced in San Antonio, TX, site of the men's Division I Basketball Championship.
