|
COLLEGEINSIDER.COM HONORS COACH PHELAN
March 1, 2003
To further recognize his achievements, CollegeInsider.com has officially
renamed its National Coach of the Year award to honor recently retired
Mount St. Mary's head coach Jim Phelan.
CollegeInsider.com is pleased to announce that the award will now be named
the "Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year" award.
"I am honored to have the CollegeInsider.com National Coach of the Year
award named after me," Coach Phelan said. "I've been fortunate to have
many great players and assistant coaches throughout my career and having
the award named after me is a reflection of their success."
The first recipient of the 2003 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year
award will be announced on Monday, March 10.
The CollegeInsider.com National Coach of the Year award is in its seventh
year of existence. Previous winners include Rob Barnes (Mississippi), Rob
Evans (Mississippi), Bob Huggins (Cincinnati), Greg Kampe (Oakland), Mike
Krzyzewski (Duke) and Bo Ryan (Wisconsin).
"This just made perfect sense," CollegeInsider.com's Joe Dwyer said.
"Coach Phelan is an inspiration to so many people and he represented all
that is good about college basketball. It is an honor for us to have his
name headlining our national coach of the year award."
The Northeast Conference has also announced that their conference Coach of
the Year will also be named after Coach Phelan.
JIM PHELAN BOW TIE DAY
Feb. 6,
2003
Emmitsburg, Md. - Mount St. Mary's is proud to announce they have teamed
up with CollegeInsider.com, a popular and nationally recognized college
basketball website, to recognize Mount St. Mary's head men's basketball
coach Jim Phelan on his final regular season game with 'Jim Phelan Bow Tie
Day'. The Mount and CollegeInsider.com are asking coaches from around the
country to wear a bow tie on March 1 to honor a man that has epitomized
what college basketball is truly about during his last 49 seasons as a
head coach.
Phelan, the only collegiate coach to win over 800 games and not have a
plaque in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, has announced
that he will step down as head coach of the Mount St. Mary's men's
basketball program effective at the end of this season. He has coached the
Mount to 827 victories, won the 1962 NCAA College Division National
Championship, and has appeared in two NCAA Division I Tournaments. Even
more impressive is his track record with academics as over 90% of his
recruits have earned degrees. He is the only person to coach 49 years at
one school and coach over 1,300 career games. He has nineteen 20-win
seasons and is third in wins on the all-time Division I chart.
CollegeInsider.com, in an effort to truly honor Coach Phelan, has secured
a deal with Kotty Design to help supply every coach willing to honor coach
Phelan with a bow tie. Coaches interested may order bow ties from Kotty
Design, who has said they have 130 different bow ties to choose from and
will ship them directly prior to March 1, at http://www.kottydesign.com.
A number of coaches have already committed to being apart of 'Jim Phelan
Bow Tie Day', including Texas' Rick Barnes, Cinncinnati's Bob Huggins,
South Florida's Seth Greenberg, St. Joseph's Phil Martelli, Rider's Don
Harnum, San Diego's Brad Holland, Tennessee's Kerry Keating, Rice's Willis
Wilson, and Oklahoma's Kelvin Sampson, who may not be a bow tie guy but
plans to wear one on his shirt pocket.
WHAT THEY
SAID
"Jim Phelan is truly a one-of-a-kind coach. No one, and I mean no one ever
again, will probably coach at one school as long as he has. It is
absolutely remarkable. It will be a great tribute to have coaches across
the country pay homage to a person of his caliber."
- Bill Self, head coach, Kansas
"I think it's a wonderful story. Jim Phelan committed his life and his
career to one school, as done a great job and the school has appreciated
it. This is a rare thing in college athletics today. He's a man of
impeccable character, and it's nice to see him retire with dignity from
the profession."
- Dave Faucher, former head coach, Dartmouth
"Jim Phelan is one of the great coaches ever! He has done it well and done
it with class."
- Bob Huggins, former head coach, Cincinnati
"Jim Phelan Bow Tie Day is a wonderful gesture to a true gentleman. He is
the true definition of what coach should be."
- Phil Martelli, head coach, St. Joseph's
"For 49 years Jim Phelan has coached with dignity and class and his
presence will most certainly be missed."
- Lute Olson, head coach, Arizona
"Jim Phelan is class and consistency. He has stood the test of time as a
teacher, and coach, and there are no two greater words to be called than
those."
- Willis Wilson, head coach, Rice
" I should be wearing a bow tie for every game this season to honor coach
Jim Phelan."
- Pete Strickland, former head coach, Coastal Carolina
"Through nearly half a century, Jim Phelan has had a positive influence on
so many people and those people have taken his qualities and character
into their chosen profession. Jim Phelan has made a lot of neighborhoods
and communities a better place to live."
- Bo Ryan, head coach, Wisconsin
It's a great tribute for Coach Phelan. He's meant a lot to the game and
has been in the profession a long time. Having coaches in bow ties is a
neat way to pay tribute to all he's done for the game of basketball."
- Gene Keady, former head coach, Purdue
"In all my years of coaching, this is the best thing that I have ever
heard of. I think it is a terrific idea and a great way for all coaches to
say thank you to Coach Phelan."
- John Giannini, head coach, La Salle
"I will be wearing a bow tie on March 1st not because it looks good on me
and not because that is how I'll remember Coach Phelan. I will be wearing
a bow tie strictly in honor of a tremendous coach and a better person. I
feel privileged to have played and coached against one of the all time
greats."
- Dave Calloway, head coach, Monmouth
"Jim Phelan is one of classiest men in college basketball, and if wearing
bow ties on March 1 helps bring him the honor and recognition he deserves,
I'm all for it."
- Doug Oliver, head coach Idaho State
"Coach Phelan is one of the reasons that college coaching is the great
profession that it is today. His ability to sustain greatness over a long
period of time is admirable."
- Tim Buckley, head coach, Ball State
"I am a big Jim Phelan fan. He has been a role model for so many young
people and so many coaches everywhere. Jim Phelan Bow Tie Day is a great
way to pay tribute to a great guy."
- Kelvin Sampson, head coach Oklahoma
"I was fortunate enough to grow up in Philadelphia and followed Coach
Phelan's career closely. Without him knowing it, he's been a great role
model. A childhood friend of his is Hall Of Famer Paul Arizin. I was a
close friend of Paul's son Dennis. Mr Arizin and I would talk about
basketball and coaching. He would tell me how he and Jim played the game
and how it should be played today. What Jim has accomplished is truly
remarkable. I don't feel the game has passed Jim by; if anything, today's
coaches should be more like Jim Phelan. Our student-athletes would
certainly benefit from this approach to coaching. I'm looking forward to
wearing the bow tie and letting the world know how great a coach Jim
Phelan has been."
- Steve Donahue, head coach, Cornell
"Everybody should wear a bow tie to pay tribute to coach Phelan. He has
meant so much to coaches everywhere."
- Barry Hinson, head coach, Missouri State
"You are not going to find a better guy in coaching than Jim Phelan. He is
a tremendous person."
- Dave Magarity, assistant women's coach, Army
"Bow Tie Day is a great idea. Jim Phelan is one of best and he deserves to
have such a tribute."
- Seth Greenberg, head coach, Virginia Tech
"Coach Phelan deserves a day like this. He has meant so much to so many
people."
- Bruiser Flint, head coach, Drexel
"When I think of Jim Phelan, two things come to mind - - A beautiful man
and a bow tie. He continues to an inspiration to so many people. His
retirement will create a a void in College Athletics that will never be
filled."
- Angela Lento, CollegeInsider.com.
|
