THE JOE B. HALL AWARD

Blog Image

Niagara's Greg Paulus is the recipient of the 2020 Joe B. Hall Award, which is presented annually to the top first-year coach in Division I college basketball.

March 23 2020

THE 2020 AWARD

BOSTON, MA -- Niagara's Greg Paulus is the recipient of the 2019-20 Joe B. Hall Award, presented annually to the top first-year coach in Division I college basketball. 
 
Last Spring Paulus was named to the staff as an assistant. A few months later he was elevated to head coach. He took over under very difficult circumstances and was able to keep Niagara competitive in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. 

"The easy choice would have been to go with a coach that racked up a good win total or contended for a league title,” said CollegeInsider.com’s Angela Lento. “Niagara had to make a coaching change just days before the start of the season. It would have been easy for the team to just pack it in and get ready for next season, but Greg Paulus did is a terrific of keeping the team together."
 
A longtime Kentucky assistant, Joe B. Hall was given the task of following the legendary Adolph Rupp at the school. In his first season, Hall finished 20-8, won the SEC and advanced to the NCAA Regional Finals.
 
Hall coached the Wildcats from 1972 to 1985. He won two-thirds of his games (297-100), received four SEC Coach of the Year honors and won a National Championship in 1978. He also steered the program to two other Final Fours, won eight Southeastern Conference regular season championships and one Southeastern Conference tournament championship (1984). 


2020 JOE B. HALL AWARD FINALISTS

Lennie Acuff, Lipscomb
Shane Burcar, Northern Arizona
Quinton Farrell, Presbyterian
Dane Fischer, William & Mary
Joe Gallo, Merrimack
Todd Golden, San Francisco
Eric Henderson, South Dakota State
Juwan Howard, Michigan
Willie Jones, North Carolina A&T
Carmen Maciariello, Siena
Jay McAuley, Wofford
Bryan Mullins, Southern Illinois
Greg Paulus, Niagara
Mike Schrage, Elon
Danny Sprinkle, Montana State

The Joe B. Hall award is presented annually to the top first-year coach in Division I college basketball. 
 
A longtime Kentucky assistant, Joe B. Hall was given the task of following the legendary Adolph Rupp at the school. In his first season, Hall finished 20-8, won the SEC and advanced to the NCAA Regional Finals.
 
Hall coached the Wildcats from 1972 to 1985. He won two-thirds of his games (297-100), received four SEC Coach of the Year honors and won a National Championship in 1978. He also steered the program to two other Final Fours, won eight Southeastern Conference regular season championships and one Southeastern Conference tournament championship (1984). 
 
The recipient of of the 2021 award will be announced on April 1.

The Joe B. Hall award committee is a 15 member panel, consisting of five current division I head coaches, five retired head coaches and five collegeinsider.com staff members. Former Kentucky All-American Kyle Macy is the chairman of the awards committee.

RULES AND CRITERIA

The Joe B. Hall award is presented annually to first-year head coach in division I college basketball, as voted on by the award committee. Eligible coaches must be in the first season as a head at the division I level.

SCHEDULE OF RELEASES

March 30: Finalists announced
April2: Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year announced

AWARD PRESENTATION

The recipients of the 17 national awards, presented by CollegeInsider.com, are announced annually at the site of the NCAA men’s division I basketball championship.

The recipient of the 2018 Joe B. Hall award will be announced on April 2 in San Antonio, site of the Men's NCAA Basketball Championship.

.

 

Champign Image
Champign Image
Champign Image