Men's Basketball MEAC Media Relations

North Carolina Central's LeVelle Moton Named Finalist For Ben Jobe Award

BOSTON, MASS. – North Carolina Central University head men’s basketball coach LeVelle Moton has been named among 20 finalists for the Ben Jobe National Coach of the Year award given annually to the top minority coach in NCAA Division I men’s basketball CollegeInsider.com announced on Monday.

In his fourth season at the helm at NCCU, Moton has turned around a program that won seven games in 2009, but since becoming a full member of the MEAC (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) has compiled a record of 39-23 overall, 25-7 in league action. 

For the first time since Moton was a freshman at NCCU, the Eagles have recorded more than 20 wins in a season as the maroon and gray ended the regular season 22-8, 15-1 in conference play.

The 20 finalists include:  Tommy Amaker (Harvard), Mike Anderson (Arkansas), Kevin Bagget (Rider), Roman Banks (Southern), Jamion Christian (Mount St. Mary’s), Mike Davis (Texas Southern), Anthony Evans (Norfolk State), Anthony Grant (Alabama), James Green (Jacksonville State), Frank Haith (Missouri), Joe Jones (Boston University), Cuonzo Martin (Tennessee), Bashir Mason (Wagner), Ray McCallum (Detriot), Marvin Menzies (New Mexico State), Howard Moore (Illinois-Chicago), Kevin Ollie (Connecticut), Shaka Smart (VCU), and John Thompson III (Georgetown).

The Ben Jobe Award is presented annually to the top minority coach in Division I men’s basketball.  Coach Jobe is an icon in the history of Historically Black Colleges and Universities.  He is best known as the head coach at Southern University, a position he held for 12 seasons.  He also coached at Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Talladega, Tuskegee, and South Carolina State.

The 2013 recipient will be announced at the CollegeInsider.com awards banquet in Atlanta, Ga., the site of the 2013 Men’s NCAA Basketball Championship. 

The second seeded Eagles begin their quest for their first tournament championship since 1950 on Wednesday evening, March  at approximately 8:00 p.m. against the winner of the 7/10 matchup between North Carolina A&T and Florida A&M. 

For more information about NCCU athletics, visit www.NCCUEaglePride.com or download the NCCU Sports Network app available in the App Store, Google Play and Amazon.