BOSTON, MA – South Carolina State head men's basketball coach Erik Martin has been named a finalist for the 2024 Ben Jobe National Coach of the Year Award, College Insider announced this week.

Martin is one of 25 finalists for the award which is presented annually to the top minority head coach in Division I college basketball.

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

Jobe's record at Southern was 209-141 and included four NCAA Tournament appearances, one NIT appearance, five SIAC championships, 11 SWAC titles and two NAIA Tournament Championships. One of his most memorable moments as a coach was leading No. 15 seed Southern to a 93-78 win over No. 2 seed Georgia Tech in the first round of the 1993 NCAA Tournament.

Martin just completed his second season at the helm of the Bulldog men's basketball program. This season he led SC State to an 14-17 overall, 9-5 MEAC record and a third (3^rd) place finish in the regular season race.

During the MEAC Preseason Predicted Order of Finish, SC State was voted to finish last, which is voted on by the conference's head coaches and sports information directors.

The recipients of the annual awards are 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 winners of the 2024 awards will be announced in Phoenix, the site of the men's Final Four..

2024 BEN JOBE AWARD FINALISTS