March 2, 2006

Stockton, Calif. - University of the Pacific men's basketball head coach Bob Thomason has been named a finalist for the CollegeInsider.com Hugh Durham Mid-Major Coach of the Year award. Thomason is among 15 finalists for the award.

Thomason, the first-ever recipient of the award last year, has led the Tigers to a 20-7 overall record, 10-2 in the Big West Conference. Pacific has won 20 or more games for the third consecutive season, a school record. The Tigers are currently in first place in the Big West.

Previously known as simply the CollegeInsider.com mid-major coach of the year, the award was renamed in 2005 to recognize Hugh Durham who built national programs at Florida State and Georgia where he is the school's all-time winningest coach.

The 20-member panel, which is chaired by Durham, is headlined by division I head coaches Mike Brey (Notre Dame), Barry Collier (Nebraska), Seth Greenberg (Virginia Tech), Dan Monson (Minnesota), Lute Olson (Arizona) and Kelvin Sampson. All final ballots will be cast by March 12 and the winner will be announced at the 2006 Final Four in Indianapolis, IN.

2006 HUGH DURHAM AWARD FINALISTS

Coach School

Mike Adras Northern Arizona

Ronnie Arrow Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

Brad Brownell UNC-Wilmington

Pat Flannery Bucknell

Bobby Gonzalez Manhattan

Jim Larranaga George Mason

Jim Les Bradley

Bob Marlin Sam Houston State

Mike McConathy Northwestern State

Tim Miles North Dakota State

Jimmy Patsos Loyola (MD)

Steve Payne Tennessee Tech

Buzz Peterson Coastal Carolina

Bob Thomason Pacific

Mark Turgeon Wichita State