BOSTON, MA - Bethune-Cookman Head Men's Basketball Coach Reggie Theus has been named a finalist for the 2025-26 Ben Jobe Award, it was announce by CollegeInsider.com Tuesday. The award is presented annually to the top minority head coach in division I college basketball.

Theus led Bethune-Cookman to one of its most successful seasons at the Division I level. Under his leadership, the Wildcats posted a 16-13 overall record and a 13-3 mark in SWAC play, securing the program's first SWAC regular season championship since joining the conference and its second regular season title since transitioning to Division I. Throughout conference play, Theus guided Bethune-Cookman to become the league's most consistent team. The Wildcats went 10-1 at home in SWAC games, consistently protecting their home floor while also earning key road victories to separate themselves in the standings.

The Ben Jobe Award is named in honor of one of the most iconic coaches in the history of basketball at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He is best known as the head coach of Southern University, a position he held for 12 seasons. He was also head coach at Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Talladega, Tuskegee, and South Carolina State.

His record at Southern was 209-141 and included four NCAA Tournament appearances. He also coached the Jaguars to one NIT appearance, five SIAC championships, 11 SWAC titles and two NAIA Tournament Championships. Perhaps his most memorable moment as a coach was leading No. 15 seed Southern to a 93-78 win over No. 2 Georgia Tech in the first round of the 1993 NCAA Tournament. It stands as one of the great upsets in the history of the event.

Coach Jobe passed away on March 10, 2017.

The recipient of the annual award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of collegeinsider.com.

The 2026 award will be announced in Indianapolis, IN, site of the men's Division I Basketball Championship.

The full list of finalists is available at CollegeInsider.com.


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