April
5, 2005
BOB THOMASON RECIPIENT OF HUGH DURHAM MID-MAJOR
COACH OF THE YEAR AWARD
>>> Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award Renamed to
Honor Hugh Durham
 It
was a magical season for coach Bob Thomason and
the University of the Pacific Tigers and it’s been a
season with numerous accolades. Add one more to
the list.
Thomason is the recipient of the “Hugh Durham
Mid-Major Coach of the Year” award, given out by
CollegeInsider.com. Previously recognized as the
Mid-Major Coach of the Year award, CI renamed the
award to honor the recently retired Durham.
“It’s fitting that Bob is the first recipient of
this award,” said Joe Dwyer who is the
editor-in-chief and founder of CollegeInsider.com.
“Coach Durham knows Bob very well and has really
admired the job he has done.”
Under the guidance of Thomason, Pacific finished
27-4 this season, which included a perfect 18-0
mark in the Big West Conference. Both win totals
established new school records.
Pacific, which also ran off a school-record
22-game winning streak (Dec. 21-Mar. 11), earned
an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and posted
a first-round victory over Pittsburgh. It marked
the second straight season that the Tigers had
beaten a team from the Big East conference in the
NCAA tournament (beat Providence in 2004).
This was Thomason’s seventeenth season at Pacific
and clearly the school’s most historic.
A 1971 Pacific graduate, Thomason played on teams
that were 17-9, 21-6 and 22-6 in 1968-69, 1969-70
and 1970-71, respectively. The 1970-71 club with
teammates John Gianelli and Jim McCargo, advanced
to the NCAA Tournament. Thomason is a visible link
between Pacific's past glory and its present
success. |