McCollum named NABC Division II Coach of the Year

For the second time in three seasons, Northwest Missouri State University head men's basketball coachis the recipient of the NABC Division II Coach of the Year Award presented by Wilson after leading the Bearcats to the 2019 NCAA Division II championship.Northwest Missouri State topped Point Loma Nazarene University, 64-58, on Saturday in Evansville, Ind., to take the national title and complete a remarkable unbeaten season with a 38-0 record. The Bearcats also won the NCAA championship in 2017 with a 71-61 win over Fairmont State, dropping just one out their 36 games played. Over the past three seasons, McCollum has guided the Bearcats to a remarkable record of 100-5.A former Bearcat standout as a player, McCollum completed his 10th season as head coach and his teams have an overall record of 241-75 with six Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association regular season championships.McCollum will receive his award on Sunday, April 7, at the annual AT&T NABC Guardians of the Game awards show in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The event begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Main Auditorium at the Minneapolis Convention Center during the NABC Convention and NCAA Men's Final FourThe show will be broadcast by Stadium ( https://watchstadium.com ).Located in Kansas City, MO, the NABC was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, the legendary basketball coach at the University of Kansas. Allen, a student of James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, organized coaches into this collective group to serve as Guardians of the Game. The NABC currently has nearly 5,000 members consisting primarily of university and college men's basketball coaches. All members of the NABC are expected to uphold the core values of being a Guardian of the Game by bringing attention to the positive aspects of the sport of basketball and the role coaches play in the academic and athletic lives of today's student-athletes. The four core values of being a Guardian of the Game are advocacy, leadership, service and education. Additional information about the NABC, its programs and membership, can be found at www.nabc.com