McKay Selected as Finalist for 2025-26 Hugh Durham Award
3/6/2026 9:34:00 AM | Men's Basketball
LYNCHBURG, Va. – Liberty Men's Basketball Head Coach Ritchie McKay has been selected a finalist for the 2025-26 Hugh Durham Award, his second straight year on the listing.
The award is presented annually to the top mid-major head coach in college basketball. McKay is one of 25 Division I head coaches on the listing.
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 2026 award will be announced in Indianapolis, Ind., site of the men's Division I Basketball Championship Final Four.
McKay and the Flames are in the middle of a strong 2025-26 season with a 24-6 overall record and 16-3 Conference USA mark. Liberty claimed the CUSA outright regular season title for a second straight year with an 81-78 road victory at Jacksonville State, last Saturday. McKay and Liberty won a school-record 17 consecutive games from Dec. 16-Feb. 19, started 15-0 in CUSA play and went 73 days between losses.
McKay was named as a finalist for the 2025-26 Ben Jobe Award (top minority head coach in Division I) as well this week.
The Hugh Durham award is named in honor of the former Florida State, Georgia and Jacksonville head coach. In eight seasons at Jacksonville, 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 (percentage or wins) at three Division I schools.
He built national programs at Florida State, where he holds the record for best winning percentage with a 230-95 (.708) record in 12 years. At Georgia, he was the all-time winningest coach in the 99-year history of the Bulldog program, having won 297 games in 17 seasons.
Durham coached Florida State and Georgia to a combined eight NCAA Tournament appearances and two Final Fours. He is one of 17 coaches to take multiple teams to the Final Four.
Coaches of teams in the following conference are eligible for the award: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Coastal Athletic, Conference USA, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, MEAC, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, SWAC, Summit, Sun Belt, WAC and West Coast.
McKay and the Flames (24-6, 16-3 CUSA) are back in action on Saturday afternoon for their regular season finale against Sam Houston (21-9, 13-6 CUSA). Saturday is Senior Day for the program. Tipoff is at 2 p.m., with a special Senior Day ceremony set for pregame.
The award is presented annually to the top mid-major head coach in college basketball. McKay is one of 25 Division I head coaches on the listing.
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 2026 award will be announced in Indianapolis, Ind., site of the men's Division I Basketball Championship Final Four.
McKay and the Flames are in the middle of a strong 2025-26 season with a 24-6 overall record and 16-3 Conference USA mark. Liberty claimed the CUSA outright regular season title for a second straight year with an 81-78 road victory at Jacksonville State, last Saturday. McKay and Liberty won a school-record 17 consecutive games from Dec. 16-Feb. 19, started 15-0 in CUSA play and went 73 days between losses.
McKay was named as a finalist for the 2025-26 Ben Jobe Award (top minority head coach in Division I) as well this week.
The Hugh Durham award is named in honor of the former Florida State, Georgia and Jacksonville head coach. In eight seasons at Jacksonville, 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 (percentage or wins) at three Division I schools.
He built national programs at Florida State, where he holds the record for best winning percentage with a 230-95 (.708) record in 12 years. At Georgia, he was the all-time winningest coach in the 99-year history of the Bulldog program, having won 297 games in 17 seasons.
Durham coached Florida State and Georgia to a combined eight NCAA Tournament appearances and two Final Fours. He is one of 17 coaches to take multiple teams to the Final Four.
Coaches of teams in the following conference are eligible for the award: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Coastal Athletic, Conference USA, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, MEAC, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, SWAC, Summit, Sun Belt, WAC and West Coast.
McKay and the Flames (24-6, 16-3 CUSA) are back in action on Saturday afternoon for their regular season finale against Sam Houston (21-9, 13-6 CUSA). Saturday is Senior Day for the program. Tipoff is at 2 p.m., with a special Senior Day ceremony set for pregame.
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