ORANGEBURG, SC – South Carolina State Men's Head Basketball Coach Erik Martin was named a finalist for the Ben Jobe Award, an award presented annually to the top minority head coach in Division I Men's College Basketball, by CollegeInsider.com.
 
In just his third season he led the Bulldogs to a share of the MEAC Regular Season Title, the first in over two decades. South Carolina State finished the regular season mark at 11-3 in the league and will be the #2 seed in the upcoming MEAC tournament.
 
The award is presented annually to the top minority head coach in Division I college basketball.

The Ben Jobe Award is named in honor of one of the most iconic coaches in the history of basketball at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He is best known as the head coach of Southern University, a position he held for 12 seasons. He was also head coach at Alabama A&M, Alabama State, Talladega, Tuskegee, and South Carolina State.
 
His record at Southern was 209-141 and included four NCAA Tournament appearances. He also coached the Jaguars to one NIT appearance, five SIAC championships, 11 SWAC titles and two NAIA Tournament Championships. Perhaps his most memorable moment as a coach was leading No. 15 seed Southern to a 93-78 win over No. 2 Georgia Tech in the first round of the 1993 NCAA Tournament. It stands as one of the great upsets in the history of the event.
 
South Carolina State ranks among the top in the MEAC in scoring margin (80.1/9.2), scoring offense (80.1/2^nd), scoring defense (70.9/2^nd).

The recipient of the award is 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 2025 award will be announced in San Antonio, TX, site of the men's Division I Basketball Championship.
 
ABOUT SC STATE ATHLETICS
South Carolina State University is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level intercollegiate athletic program. The university currently fields teams in 14 sports: women's volleyball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's indoor track & field, softball, men's and women's outdoor track and field, women's soccer and football with all teams competing in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), except for women's soccer.
 
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