University of Tennessee Athletics
Barnes Selected as a Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award Finalist
March 19, 2024 | Men's Basketball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – University of Tennessee head men's basketball coach Rick Barnes is a finalist for the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award, as announced Tuesday afternoon.
Barnes has guided the Volunteers to a 24-8 (14-4 SEC) record this season, as well as 11th SEC regular season title—sixth outright—in program history.
A native of Hickory, N.C., Barnes is in his ninth season at Tennessee and has the team in the NCAA Tournament for the sixth straight time. That matches the longest streak in program history and ties the fourth-longest active streak in the country.
Tennessee has been in the AP top 20 the entire season, earning a top-12 position in 19 of the 20 releases. It has been top-10 a total of 17 times this year, including top-five on eight occasions with a peak position of fourth in the country.
The Volunteers won six games over AP top-25 teams this season, including defeating a top-20 foe in three consecutive outings for the first time in program history.
The Jim Phelan Award, named after the former Mount St. Mary's coach who won 830 games in 49 seasons, is presented by CollegeInsider.com. The recipient of the award is determined by a 10-member voting committee, which includes current and former head coaches, as well as CollegeInsider.com staff members.
Barnes is one of 20 finalists for the award, including one of 11 in a Power Six league and one of three from the SEC. The others in the latter category are South Carolina's Lamont Paris and Auburn's Bruce Pearl.
Sixth-ranked, second-seeded Tennessee opens NCAA Tournament play with a matchup against No. 15-seeded Saint Peter's at Spectrum Center in Charlotte, N.C., live on TNT.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men's basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook. Â
2023-24 JIM PHELAN NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD FINALISTS
Amir Abdur-Rahim, USF
Rick Barnes, Tennessee
Randy Bennett, Saint Mary's
Mark Byington, James Madison
Chris Collins, Northwestern
Hubert Davis, North Carolina
Bryce Drew, Grand Canyon
Fred Hoiberg, Nebraska
Dan Hurley, Connecticut
Dustin Kerns, Appalachian State
Chris Mooney, Richmond
T.J. Otzelberger, Iowa State
Matt Painter, Purdue
Lamont Paris, South Carolina
Bruce Pearl, Auburn
Kelvin Sampson, Houston
Josh Schertz, Indiana State
Kyle Smith, Washington State
Danny Sprinkle, Utah State
Will Wade, McNeese State
