Southern Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year

Southern Conference Coach of the Year
Awarded for	the best coach in the Southern Conference.
History
First award	1947
Most recent	Brooks Savage, East Tennessee State

The Southern Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year is an annual college basketball award presented to the top men's basketball coach in the Southern Conference.

Key

^C	SoCon coaches' selection (1989–2024)
^M	SoCon media's selection (1989–2024)
Coach (X)	Denotes the number of times the player has been awarded the SoCon Coach of the Year award at that point

Winners

Season	Coach	School	Source(s)
1946–47	Everett Case	NC State	^[1]^[2]
1947–48	Gerry Gerard	Duke
1948–49	Everett Case (2)	NC State (2)
1949–50	Gerry Gerard (2)	Duke (2)
1950–51	Everett Case (3)	NC State (3)
1951–52	Red Brown	West Virginia
1952–53	Murray Greason	Wake Forest
1953–54	Bill Reinhart	George Washington
1954–55	Fred Schaus	West Virginia (2)
1955–56	Chuck Noe	Virginia Tech
1956–57	Norm Sloan	The Citadel
1957–58	Fred Schaus (2)	West Virginia (3)
1958–59	Fred Schaus (3)	West Virginia (4)
1959–60	Fred Schaus (4)	West Virginia (5)
1960–61	George King	West Virginia (6)
1961–62	Chuck Noe (2)	Virginia Tech (2)
1962–63	Lefty Driesell	Davidson
1963–64	Lefty Driesell (2)	Davidson (2)
1964–65	Lefty Driesell (3)	Davidson (3)
1965–66	Lefty Driesell (4)	Davidson (4)
1966–67	Bucky Waters	West Virginia (7)
1967–68	Lewis Mills	Richmond
1968–69	Tom Quinn	East Carolina
1969–70	Terry Holland	Davidson (5)
1970–71	Terry Holland (2)	Davidson (6)
1971–72	Terry Holland (3)	Davidson (7)
1972–73	Joe Williams	Furman
1973–74	Lewis Mills (2)	Richmond (2)
1974–75	Dave Patton	East Carolina (2)
1975–76	Bobby Cremins	Appalachian State
1976–77	Charlie Schmaus	VMI
1977–78	Bobby Cremins (2)	Appalachian State (2)
1978–79	Les Robinson	The Citadel (2)
1979–80	Steve Cottrell	Western Carolina
1980–81	Bobby Cremins (3)	Appalachian State (3)
1981–82	Murray Arnold	Chattanooga
1982–83	Murray Arnold (2)	Chattanooga (2)
1983–84	Rick Huckabay	Marshall
1984–85	Marty Fletcher	VMI (2)
1985–86	Mack McCarthy	Chattanooga (3)
1986–87	Butch Estes	Furman (2)
1987–88	Tom Apke	Appalachian State (4)
1988–89	Randy Nesbit	The Citadel (3)
1989–90	Les Robinson	East Tennessee State
1989–90	Dana Altman^C	Marshall (2)
1990–91	Butch Estes (2)	Furman (3)
1991–92	Mack McCarthy (2)	Chattanooga (4)
1992–93	Mack McCarthy (3)	Chattanooga (5)
1993–94	Bob McKillop	Davidson (8)
1994–95	Bart Bellairs^C	VMI (3)
1994–95	Billy Donovan^M	Marshall (3)
1995–96	Bob McKillop (2)	Davidson (9)
1996–97	Bob McKillop^C (3)	Davidson (10)
1996–97	Greg White^M	Marshall (4)
1997–98	Buzz Peterson	Appalachian State (5)
1998–99	John Kresse	Charleston
1999–00	Buzz Peterson^C (2)	Appalachian State (6)
1999–00	Jeff Price^M	Georgia Southern
2000–01	Ed DeChellis	East Tennessee State (2)
2001–02	Ed DeChellis^C (2)	East Tennessee State (3)
2001–02	Bob McKillop^M (4)	Davidson (11)
2002–03	Houston Fancher	Appalachian State (7)
2003–04	Murry Bartow	East Tennessee State (4)
2004–05	Bob McKillop (5)	Davidson (12)
2005–06	Ernie Nestor	Elon
2006–07	Bob McKillop (6)	Davidson (13)
2007–08	Bob McKillop (7)	Davidson (14)
2008–09	Ed Conroy	The Citadel (4)
2009–10	Mike Young	Wofford
2010–11	Bobby Cremins	Charleston (2)
2011–12	Bob McKillop^C (8)	Davidson (15)
2011–12	Wes Miller^M	UNC Greensboro
2012–13	Bob McKillop^C (9)	Davidson (16)
2012–13	Matt Matheny^M	Elon (2)
2013–14	Mike Young^C (2)	Wofford (2)
2013–14	Will Wade^M	Chattanooga (6)
2014–15	Mike Young (3)	Wofford (3)
2015–16	Matt McCall	Chattanooga (7)
2016–17	Niko Medved	Furman (4)
2017–18	Wes Miller (2)	UNC Greensboro (2)
2018–19	Mike Young (4)	Wofford (4)
2019–20	Steve Forbes	East Tennessee State (5)
2020–21	Dan Earl	VMI (4)
2021–22	Lamont Paris^C	Chattanooga (8)
2021–22	Bucky McMillan^M	Samford
2022–23	Mike Jones^C	UNC Greensboro (3)
2022–23	Bucky McMillan^M (2)	Samford (2)
2023–24	Bucky McMillan (3)	Samford (3)
2024–25	Dan Earl (2)	Chattanooga (9)	^[3]^[4]
2025–26	Brooks Savage	East Tennessee State (6)	^[5]^[6]

Winners by school

School	Winners	Years
Davidson^[a]	16	1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2012, 2013
Chattanooga	9	1982, 1983, 1986, 1992, 1993, 2014, 2016, 2022, 2025
Appalachian State^[b]	7	1976, 1978, 1981, 1988, 1998, 2000, 2003
West Virginia^[c]	7	1952, 1955, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1967
East Tennessee State^[d]	6	1990, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2020, 2026
The Citadel	4	1957, 1979, 1989, 2009
Furman	4	1973, 1987, 1991, 2017
Marshall^[e]	4	1984, 1990, 1995, 1997
VMI^[f]	4	1977, 1985, 1995, 2021
Wofford	4	2010, 2014, 2015, 2019
UNC Greensboro	3	2012, 2018, 2023
NC State^[g]	3	1947, 1949, 1951
Samford	3	2022, 2023, 2024
Charleston^[h]	2	1999, 2011
Duke^[i]	2	1948, 1950
East Carolina^[j]	2	1969, 1975
Elon^[k]	2	2006, 2013
Richmond^[l]	2	1968, 1974
Virginia Tech^[m]	2	1956, 1962
George Washington^[n]	1	1954
Georgia Southern^[o]	1	2000
Wake Forest^[p]	1	1952
Western Carolina	1	1980

↑ Davidson left in 2014 to join the Atlantic 10 Conference (A10).
↑ Appalachian State left in 2014 to join the Sun Belt Conference.
↑ West Virginia left in 1968 to become an independent. The Mountaineers are now in the Big 12 Conference.
↑ East Tennessee State left in 2005 to join the Atlantic Sun Conference and returned in 2014.
↑ Marshall left in 1997 to join the Mid-American Conference. The Thundering Herd are now in Conference USA (C-USA).
↑ VMI left in 2003 to join the Big South Conference and returned in 2014.
↑ NC State left in 1953 to join the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
↑ Charleston left in 2013 to join the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA).
↑ Duke left in 1953 to join the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
↑ East Carolina left in 1976 to become an independent. The Pirates are now in the American Athletic Conference.
↑ Elon left in 2014 to join the CAA.
↑ Richmond left in 1976 to become an independent. The Spiders are now in the A10.
↑ Virginia Tech left in 1965 to become an independent. The Hokies are now in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
↑ George Washington left in 1970 to become an independent. The Revolutionaries are now in the Atlantic 10 Conference (A10).
↑ Georgia Southern left in 2014 to join the Sun Belt Conference.
↑ Wake Forest left in 1953 to join the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

References

↑ Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Record Book (PDF) (2024–25 ed.). Southern Conference. p. 65. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
↑ Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Media Guide (PDF) (2025–26 ed.). Southern Conference. p. 65. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
↑ "All-Southern Conference men's basketball teams announced". Southern Conference. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
↑ "Men's Basketball's Dan Earl Named SoCon Coach of the Year; Highlights Six Total Selections". University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Athletics. 22 July 2026. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
↑ "All-Southern Conference men's basketball teams announced". Southern Conference. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
↑ "Savage Wins Coach of the Year; Morris, Smith Headline SoCon Award Winners". East Tennessee State University. 4 March 2026. Retrieved 30 July 2026.

[7] Davidson left in 2014 to join the Atlantic 10 Conference (A10).

[8] Appalachian State left in 2014 to join the Sun Belt Conference.

[9] West Virginia left in 1968 to become an independent. The Mountaineers are now in the Big 12 Conference.

[10] East Tennessee State left in 2005 to join the Atlantic Sun Conference and returned in 2014.

[11] Marshall left in 1997 to join the Mid-American Conference. The Thundering Herd are now in Conference USA (C-USA).

[12] VMI left in 2003 to join the Big South Conference and returned in 2014.

[13] NC State left in 1953 to join the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

[14] Charleston left in 2013 to join the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA).

[15] Duke left in 1953 to join the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

[16] East Carolina left in 1976 to become an independent. The Pirates are now in the American Athletic Conference.

[17] Elon left in 2014 to join the CAA.

[18] Richmond left in 1976 to become an independent. The Spiders are now in the A10.

[19] Virginia Tech left in 1965 to become an independent. The Hokies are now in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

[20] George Washington left in 1970 to become an independent. The Revolutionaries are now in the Atlantic 10 Conference (A10).

[21] Georgia Southern left in 2014 to join the Sun Belt Conference.

[22] Wake Forest left in 1953 to join the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

[2025RecordBook-1] Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Record Book (PDF) (2024–25 ed.). Southern Conference. p. 65. Retrieved 30 July 2026.

[2026MediaGuide-2] Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Media Guide (PDF) (2025–26 ed.). Southern Conference. p. 65. Retrieved 30 July 2026.

[3] "All-Southern Conference men's basketball teams announced". Southern Conference. Retrieved 30 July 2026.

[4] "Men's Basketball's Dan Earl Named SoCon Coach of the Year; Highlights Six Total Selections". University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Athletics. 22 July 2026. Retrieved 30 July 2026.

[5] "All-Southern Conference men's basketball teams announced". Southern Conference. Retrieved 30 July 2026.

[6] "Savage Wins Coach of the Year; Morris, Smith Headline SoCon Award Winners". East Tennessee State University. 4 March 2026. Retrieved 30 July 2026.

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Southern Conference men's basketball
Current teams	Chattanooga Mocs The Citadel Bulldogs East Tennessee State Buccaneers Furman Paladins Mercer Bears Samford Bulldogs Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles UNC Greensboro Spartans VMI Keydets Western Carolina Catamounts Wofford Terriers
Championships & awards	Southern Conference men's basketball champions Coach of the Year Player of the Year
Seasons	1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26