Jones, Gilbert Named 2015-16 Gaines Award Winners
SALISBURY, N.C., April 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Sports Media Association (NSMA) has named Yale men's basketball coach James Jones and Virginia Union University women's basketball coach AnnMarie Gilbert as its 2015-16 Big House Gaines College Basketball Coaches of the Year. The Gaines Awards will be presented at the NSMA's 57th Awards Banquet, June 20 in Salisbury, NC.
"We are pleased to recognize Coach Jones and Coach Gilbert for the outstanding jobs they did this season," NSMA executive director Dave Goren said. "Both of their teams had historic seasons and truly deserve this Award."
Jones's 17th season at Yale was the school's best since 1906-1907. The Ivy League champion Bulldogs finished 23-7, capped by an upset of Baylor in the NCAA Tournament. For his efforts, Jones was named the nation's top mid-major coach (Hugh Durham Award) and the Advocate for Athletic Equity (AAE) Division I Coach of the Year.
Gilbert finished her first season at Virginia Union with a 28-3 record. The Panthers won both the CIAA Northern Division title and the CIAA Tournament championship, before winning three games in the NCAA Division II Tournament (Atlantic Region champions) and making it all the way to the Elite Eight. Gilbert was also named the AAE Division II Coach of the Year.
ABOUT CLARENCE "BIG HOUSE" GAINES
The Gaines Awards are named for Winston-Salem State University head men's basketball coach Clarence 'Big House' Gaines. During 47 seasons as WSSU's head coach, Gaines's teams won 828 games, including the 1967 NCAA Division II national championship.
Among the players Gaines coached were basketball Hall of Famer Earl 'The Pearl' Monroe, Cleo Hill (first player from a historically black college to be drafted in the first round by an NBA team), and television personality Stephen A. Smith. A former President of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), Gaines was enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982. He died in 2005.
ABOUT THE NSMA
The NSMA will hold its 57th Awards Weekend, June 18-20, 2016, in Salisbury, N.C. Chris Berman, Billy Packer, Gary Smith the late David Halberstam will be inducted into the Hall of Fame. National Sportscaster of the Year Mike 'Doc' Emrick and, National Sportswriter of the Year Tom Verducci will be honored, along with 104 State Sportscasters and Sportswriters from throughout the country. Registration and ticket information can be found at www.nationalsportsmedia.org.
DAVE GOREN
Executive Director
[email protected]
704.633.4275 ext. 1
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SOURCE National Sports Media Association (NSMA)
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