McKay Selected as Finalist for 2024-25 Ben Jobe Award
3/6/2025 10:33:00 AM | Men's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty Flames Men's Basketball Head Coach Ritchie McKay has been selected as a finalist for the 2024-25 Ben Jobe Award.
The Ben Jobe Award is presented annually to the top minority head coach in Division college basketball. McKay is one of 25 finalists for the prestigious award. Some other coaches who are finalists include: Houston's Kelvin Sampson, Marquette's Shaka Smart, Memphis' Penny Hardaway and Missouri's Dennis Gates.
The recipient of the 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 2025 award will be announced in San Antonio, Texas, site of the men's Division I Basketball Championship Final Four.
McKay and the Flames are in the midst of a strong 2024-25 campaign with 23-6 overall mark and 11-5 Conference USA record. Liberty is currently ranked 72nd in the nation in both the in the NCAA Men's Basketball NET Rankings and KenPom rankings.
The Ben Jobe Award is named in honor of one of the most iconic coaches in the history of basketball at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Jobe 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.
Earlier this week, McKay agreed to a contract extension with the Flames through the 2030-31 season.
The Ben Jobe Award is presented annually to the top minority head coach in Division college basketball. McKay is one of 25 finalists for the prestigious award. Some other coaches who are finalists include: Houston's Kelvin Sampson, Marquette's Shaka Smart, Memphis' Penny Hardaway and Missouri's Dennis Gates.
The recipient of the 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 2025 award will be announced in San Antonio, Texas, site of the men's Division I Basketball Championship Final Four.
McKay and the Flames are in the midst of a strong 2024-25 campaign with 23-6 overall mark and 11-5 Conference USA record. Liberty is currently ranked 72nd in the nation in both the in the NCAA Men's Basketball NET Rankings and KenPom rankings.
The Ben Jobe Award is named in honor of one of the most iconic coaches in the history of basketball at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Jobe 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.
Earlier this week, McKay agreed to a contract extension with the Flames through the 2030-31 season.
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