By: Mark Wasik
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KENNESAW, Ga. – After a historic championship season, Kennesaw State head coach
Antoine Pettway has been named this year's recipient of the Ben Jobe National Coach of the Year Award, CollegeInsider.com announced Thursday. The Ben Jobe Award is presented annually to the top minority head coach at the Division I level.
Pettway guided the Owls through a season that saw adversity at times, including losing a pair of starters in January, to a 7-2 run at the end of the regular season and the conference tournament. The Owls became the only team in the nation to knock off three top-four seeds in their conference tournament, taking down No. 3 seed Western Kentucky, No. 2 Sam Houston, and then No. 4 Louisiana Tech in the Conference USA championship game. The win gave KSU its first-ever CUSA title in just its second year in the league.
KSU earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in four years. As the No. 14 seed in the West, it gave No. 3 seed Gonzaga a battle all game long, leading for most of the opening half before eventually falling 75–66 in the NCAA First Round in Portland.
Three players under Pettway received All-CUSA honors this past season, highlighted by sophomore guard
RJ Johnson's selection to the all-conference first-team.
Braedan Lue was a CUSA All-Defensive selection, and
Trey Simpson was named to the CUSA All-Freshman squad. The Owls thrived under Pettway's ability to recruit and develop. KSU was the only team in this year's NCAA Tournament to both have its entire starting lineup recruited by its current coach and to not start a single senior.
Pettway is the first coach in Kennesaw State men's basketball history (Division I era) to lead the Owls to consecutive winning seasons after the Owls finished 21-14 overall. The 21 wins are the second-most in school history, and he holds the second, third and fourth-best win totals in a season as a coach at KSU.
Looking at the D1 era at Kennesaw State, he became the fastest coach to reach 50 wins at KSU, reaching that milestone in just his 91
st career game. Pettway holds a 55-44 record through three seasons and owns the highest career winning percentage in KSU history at .556. His 26 career conference wins are also the most-ever by a coach at KSU, while the Owls have now posted back-to-back double-digit conference win totals for the first-time ever.
The Ben Jobe Award is named in honor of one of the top coaches in the history of HBCU basketball. Ben Jobe was best known as the head coach of Southern University, who he led to four NCAA Tournament appearances in his 12 years at the school. Jobe was also the head coach at Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Talladega, Tuskegee and South Carolina State.
The Champions Fund
The Champions Fund is a newly created, 100% tax deductible, philanthropic opportunity to contribute strategic revenue to Kennesaw State Athletics, with the goal of strengthening our ability to recruit and retain top-tier talent in this new era of collegiate athletics. Contributions to the Champions Fund will help aid in funding student-athlete recruitment and retention, as well as helping the Owls provide competitive excellence through investments in coaching, travel and facilities. The fund will also give an elevated student-athlete experience, including enhanced academic, nutrition, wellness and leadership programs. Donate to the Champions Fund here and help us support our Kennesaw State Owls.
