Morgan State head coach Todd Bozeman has been named one of 10 finalists for the 2009 Hugh Durham National Coach of the Year award, announced on Monday. The Hugh Durham Award is given to the nation’s top mid-major coach, which is voted on by a 20-member panel. The winner will be presented with the award at the 2009 Final Four in Detroit.

The Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Coach of the Year award was renamed in honor of Hugh Durham in 2005. Durham retired at the end of the 2004-05 season and was one of 12 coaches to lead two different programs to the NCAA Final Four with Florida State in 1972 and Georgia in 1983. He is also the only coach to lead both teams to their only Final Four appearance.

Bozeman joins seven others as first time finalists, while two previous finalists join the list this year. Brad Stevens from Butler and Randy Bennett from St. Mary’s were both finalists following the 2007-08 season. The remaining seven finalists are Duggar Baucom (VMI), Ed Conroy (The Citadel), Brad Greenberg (Radford), Ben Jacobson (Northern Iowa), Saul Phillips (North Dakota State), J.P. Piper (Nicholls State) and Randy Rahe (Weber State).

Keno Davis (Drake), Gregg Marshall (Winthrop), Pat Falnnery (Bucknell) and Bob Thomason (Pacific) are all previous winners of the award. Davis is the most recent recipient of the award, followed by Marshall in 2007, Flannery in 2006 and Thomason in 2005.

Bozeman has led the Bears to their second consecutive Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference regular season title. Under Bozeman, the Bears have won the most Division I games in school history and have guaranteed postseason play for the second year in a row.

The Bears are 19-11, just one victory away from the program’s second 20-win season under Bozeman, marking just the fifth time in the history of the program. Currently the Bears are ranked No. 23 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 and have a 153 RPI ranking.

HUGH DURHAM AWARD FINALISTS

Todd Bozeman Morgan State

Duggar Baucom VMI

Randy Bennett St. Mary's

Ed Conroy The Citadel

Brad Greenberg Radford

Ben Jacobson Northern Iowa