NEW ORLEANS, La.- Savannah State men's basketball coach
Horace Broadnax received the 2012 Inaugural John McLendon National Coach of the Year Award at the
CollegeInsider.com awards banquet in New Orleans. The award is presented annually to the top collegiate head coach. The award will encompass Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA and JUCO.
Broadnax, who was one of 15 finalists, won the award after leading Savannah State to a 21-12 record and winning the regular season Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference title in SSU's first year in the conference with a 14-2 record.
In addition to this award, Broadnax was also tabbed the MEAC Coach of the Year for the 2011-12 season.
The former Georgetown point guard took over a program that went 0-28 during the 2004-05 and his teams have shown steady progress going from two wins during the 2005-06 season to 21 wins during the 2011-12 campaign.
As a player, Broadnax made a name for himself during his college career by helping lead Georgetown to the 1984 NCAA Men's National Championship Title and as National Championship runner-ups in 1985.
A trailblazer and one of the true pioneers of the game, McLendon became the first African American coach to win an integrated national championship. His team went on to win the NAIA Division I Men's Tournament in 1957, 1958 and 1959, making him the first coach in history to win three consecutive NAIA championships.
In 1962 he became the first African American head coach in a major professional league (ABL) with the Cleveland Pipers. In 1966 he became the first African American head coach of predominantly-white university, when he took over the Cleveland State program. He led the team to their best record in school history.
In 1969, McLendon was hired by the Denver Rockets and became the first African American head coach in the American Basketball Association. After a brief stint with the Rockets, McLendon ended his 25-year professional coaching career with a winning percentage of .760 and a lifetime career average of 523 victories and 165 losses..
