# UPI College Basketball Coach of the Year

The UPI College Basketball Coach of the Year was an annual basketball award given to the best men's basketball head coach in NCAA Division I competition. The award was first given following the 1954–55 season and was discontinued following the 1995–96 season. It was given by United Press International (UPI), a news agency in the United States that rivaled the Associated Press but began to decline with the advent of television news. The last winner was Gene Keady of Purdue, who led the Boilermakers to a 26–6 record and a berth into the 1996 NCAA tournament's second round.
UCLA claimed the most all-time winners with six (all of whom were John Wooden), followed by San Francisco with three. Five additional schools claimed two winners apiece, while the rest only had one winner each.
Wooden garnered the most UPI Coach of the Year awards, receiving six throughout his tenure at UCLA. Six other coaches received the award twice: Bob Knight, Ray Meyer, Adolph Rupp, Norm Stewart, Fred Taylor and Phil Woolpert. The only coach whose team did not qualify for the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was Miami (FL)'s Leonard Hamilton, who won the award in 1994–95 after leading the Hurricanes to the first round of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). Hamilton is also the only recipient with a double-digit loss season; his 1994–95 squad finished 15–13.

## Key

| Coach (X) | Denotes the number of times the coach has been given the UPI Coach of the Year award at that point |
| Team (X) | Denotes the number of times the team has been represented for the UPI Coach of the Year award at that point |

## Winners

| Season | Coach | School | Record | Postseason result |
| 1954–55 | Phil Woolpert | San Francisco | 28–1 | NCAA Champions |
| 1955–56 | Phil Woolpert (2) | San Francisco (2) | 29–0 | NCAA Champions |
| 1956–57 | Frank McGuire | North Carolina | 32–0 | NCAA Champions |
| 1957–58 | Tex Winter | Kansas State | 22–5 | NCAA Final Four |
| 1958–59 | Adolph Rupp | Kentucky | 24–3 | NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 1959–60 | Pete Newell | California | 28–2 | NCAA Runners-Up |
| 1960–61 | Fred Taylor | Ohio State | 27–1 | NCAA Runners-Up |
| 1961–62 | Fred Taylor (2) | Ohio State (2) | 26–2 | NCAA Runners-Up |
| 1962–63 | Ed Jucker | Cincinnati | 26–2 | NCAA Runners-Up |
| 1963–64 | John Wooden | UCLA | 30–0 | NCAA Champions |
| 1964–65 | Dave Strack | Michigan | 24–4 | NCAA Runners-Up |
| 1965–66 | Adolph Rupp (2) | Kentucky (2) | 27–2 | NCAA Runners-Up |
| 1966–67 | John Wooden (2) | UCLA (2) | 30–0 | NCAA Champions |
| 1967–68 | Guy Lewis | Houston | 31–2 | NCAA Final Four |
| 1968–69 | John Wooden (3) | UCLA (3) | 29–1 | NCAA Champions |
| 1969–70 | John Wooden (4) | UCLA (4) | 28–2 | NCAA Champions |
| 1970–71 | Al McGuire | Marquette | 28–1 | NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 1971–72 | John Wooden (5) | UCLA (5) | 30–0 | NCAA Champions |
| 1972–73 | John Wooden (6) | UCLA (6) | 30–0 | NCAA Champions |
| 1973–74 | Digger Phelps | Notre Dame | 26–3 | NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 1974–75 | Bob Knight | Indiana | 31–1 | NCAA Elite Eight |
| 1975–76 | Tom Young | Rutgers | 31–2 | NCAA Final Four |
| 1976–77 | Bob Gaillard | San Francisco (3) | 29–2 | NCAA 2nd round |
| 1977–78 | Eddie Sutton | Arkansas | 32–4 | NCAA Final Four |
| 1978–79 | Bill Hodges | Indiana State | 33–1 | NCAA Runners-Up |
| 1979–80 | Ray Meyer | DePaul | 26–2 | NCAA 1st round |
| 1980–81 | Ralph Miller | Oregon State | 26–2 | NCAA 2nd round |
| 1981–82 | Norm Stewart | Missouri | 27–4 | NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 1982–83 | Jerry Tarkanian | UNLV | 28–3 | NCAA 1st round |
| 1983–84 | Ray Meyer (2) | DePaul (2) | 27–3 | NCAA 2nd round |
| 1984–85 | Lou Carnesecca | St. John's | 31–4 | NCAA Final Four |
| 1985–86 | Mike Krzyzewski | Duke | 37–3 | NCAA Runners-Up |
| 1986–87 | John Thompson | Georgetown | 29–5 | NCAA Elite Eight |
| 1987–88 | John Chaney | Temple | 32–2 | NCAA Elite Eight |
| 1988–89 | Bob Knight (2) | Indiana (2) | 27–8 | NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 1989–90 | Jim Calhoun | Connecticut | 31–6 | NCAA Elite Eight |
| 1990–91 | Rick Majerus | Utah | 30–4 | NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 1991–92 | Perry Clark | Tulane | 22–9 | NCAA 2nd round |
| 1992–93 | Eddie Fogler | Vanderbilt | 28–6 | NCAA Sweet 16 |
| 1993–94 | Norm Stewart (2) | Missouri (2) | 28–4 | NCAA Elite Eight |
| 1994–95 | Leonard Hamilton | Miami (FL) | 15–13 | NIT 1st round |
| 1995–96 | Gene Keady | Purdue | 26–6 | NCAA 2nd round |