Boston, MA – Wagner College head men's basketball coach
Donald Copeland was named a finalist for the 2023-24 Ben Jobe National Coach of the Year award. The award is presented annually to the top minority head coach in division I college basketball.
In his second season at the helm, Copeland guided the Seahawks to their first NCAA Tournament in 21 years and coached Wagner to its first-ever NCAA Tournament win, a 71-68 victory over Howard in the First Four of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
Wagner became the lowest seed since 1999 to win the Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament and became the first team ever to win three straight road games en route to an NEC Championship.
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.
His record at Southern was 209-141 and included four NCAA Tournament appearances. He also 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 history of the event.
Coach Jobe passed away on March 10, 2017.
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 2024 award will be announced in Phoenix, AZ, site of the men's Division I Basketball Championship.
2024 BEN JOBE AWARD FINALISTS
Amir Abdur-Rahim South Florida
Tony Barbee Central Michigan
Kenny Blakeney Howard
Alvin Brooks Lamar
Craig Claxton Hofstra
Donald Copeland Wagner
Hubert Davis North Carolina
Corey Gipson Austin Peay
Justin Gray Western Carolina
Talvin Hester Louisiana Tech
Donte' Jackson Grambling
Kevin Johnson Southern
James Jones Yale
Mike Jones UNCG
Robert Jones Norfolk State
Erik Martin South Carolina State
Bashir Mason Saint Peter's
Lamont Paris South Carolina
Tevon Saddler Nicholls
Kelvin Sampson Houston
Patrick Sellers Central Connecticut
Shaka Smart Marquette
K.T. Turner UT Arlington
Drew Valentine Loyola Chicago
Darrell Walker Little Rock
