Northwestern University Athletics
Collins Named Finalist for Naismith Coach of the Year
3/16/2017 9:07:00 AM | Men's Basketball
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern head men's basketball coach Chris Collins is one of four finalists for the Werner Ladder Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year as announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club on Thursday.
The group of finalists also includes Mark Few of Gonzaga, Villanova's Jay Wright and Bill Self of Kansas.
The group was chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's national voting academy, comprised of leading journalists from around the country, current and former head coaches, former Naismith Award winners and conference commissioners, who based their selections on outstanding coaching performances during the 2016-17 college basketball season. The vote was tabulated and certified by Aprio, formerly Habif, Arogeti & Wynne, the largest full-service, independent CPA-led business advisory firm, based in Atlanta.
In his fourth year at the helm of the Wildcats, Collins has led Northwestern to its first NCAA tournament berth in school history. NU enters NCAA tournament play Thursday having won a school-record 23 games to date this season. The 'Cats posted 10 victories in Big Ten Conference play for the first time since the 1932-33 season, including recording five road wins, the school's most since 1958-59. Last weekend, Northwestern made its inaugural appearance in the semifinal round of the Big Ten tournament.
This year, fans have a say in the choosing the winner. Between March 20-31 fans can visit naismithtrophy.com/vote to cast their ballot for one of these four Naismith Award finalists. Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. EDT on March 31 and fans are limited to one vote per day. The fan vote will account for 5% of the total vote.
The 2017 Werner Ladder Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year will be announced on Sunday, April 2 at the Naismith Awards Brunch delivered by UPS at the Final Four in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Northwestern (23-11) is the No. 8 seed in the West Region and tips off NCAA tournament play against ninth-seeded Vanderbilt at approximately 3:30 p.m. Central time in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The group of finalists also includes Mark Few of Gonzaga, Villanova's Jay Wright and Bill Self of Kansas.
The group was chosen by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's national voting academy, comprised of leading journalists from around the country, current and former head coaches, former Naismith Award winners and conference commissioners, who based their selections on outstanding coaching performances during the 2016-17 college basketball season. The vote was tabulated and certified by Aprio, formerly Habif, Arogeti & Wynne, the largest full-service, independent CPA-led business advisory firm, based in Atlanta.
In his fourth year at the helm of the Wildcats, Collins has led Northwestern to its first NCAA tournament berth in school history. NU enters NCAA tournament play Thursday having won a school-record 23 games to date this season. The 'Cats posted 10 victories in Big Ten Conference play for the first time since the 1932-33 season, including recording five road wins, the school's most since 1958-59. Last weekend, Northwestern made its inaugural appearance in the semifinal round of the Big Ten tournament.
This year, fans have a say in the choosing the winner. Between March 20-31 fans can visit naismithtrophy.com/vote to cast their ballot for one of these four Naismith Award finalists. Voting ends at 11:59 p.m. EDT on March 31 and fans are limited to one vote per day. The fan vote will account for 5% of the total vote.
The 2017 Werner Ladder Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year will be announced on Sunday, April 2 at the Naismith Awards Brunch delivered by UPS at the Final Four in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Northwestern (23-11) is the No. 8 seed in the West Region and tips off NCAA tournament play against ninth-seeded Vanderbilt at approximately 3:30 p.m. Central time in Salt Lake City, Utah.
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