BOSTON, Mass. – Lamar University head basketball coach Alvin Brooks has been named a finalist for the 2024-25 Hugh Durham Award announced CollegeInsider.com Tuesday afternoon. The award is presented annually to the top mid-major head coach in college basketball.
 
The Hugh Durham Award is named in honor the former Florida State, Georgia and Jacksonville head coach. In just eight seasons in Jacksonville, Durham became the program's all-time winningest Division I coach, and he would go on to become only NCAA Division I head coach to become a school's all-time winningest coach at three different institutions.
 
Brooks is one of just 25 coaches named to the list and it comes following Lamar locking up the No. 2 overall seed for the upcoming Southland Conference Championships. The Cardinals earned the two seed following their second-straight 19-win season and a 14-6 (.700) mark in Southland Conference play.
 
It is the highest seed in a conference tournament for Lamar since the 2007-08 season and the first time LU has recorded 14 conference wins in program history.
 
In his second year with the program, the Cardinals posted a seven-win improvement and under Brooks' guidance the Cardinals have improved every season.
 
Representing the Southland Conference as the two seed for just the third time in school history, Lamar will open the tournament play Tuesday, Mar. 11^th in the semifinals. Lamar's opponent has not yet been determined.
 
The winner will be determined from a 10-member voting committee which consists of current and former head coaches, as well as two senior staff members of collegeinsider.com. The award will be announced in San Antonio, Texas during the Final Four.