BOSTON – UC San Diego head coach Eric Olen has been named a finalist for the Hugh Durham National Coach of the Year award. The honor is handed down to the top mid-major head coach in college basketball each year.
 
Playing in their first Division I season following an NCAA-mandated reclassification period, UC San Diego has posted a 26-4 record through 30 games, leading The Big West standings (16-2) by one game with two remaining. The Tritons lead the nation in turnover margin (7.5) and rank second nationally in scoring margin (18.9). UC San Diego is currently ranked second in the Mid-Major Top 25® coaches' poll and the Tritons are receiving votes in the USA TODAY Coaches Poll as well as the A.P. Top 25.
 
Under Olen's leadership, the Tritons have won 20 or more games seven times. His 236 victories are more than any other coach in program history.
 
Last season, Olen was recognized by his peers as The Big West Coach of the Year. The conference's Coach of the Year honor was the third such award for Olen, and his first in Division I. In his first 11 years as UC San Diego's head man, Olen also garnered a pair of CCAA Coach of the Year honors and an NABC West Region Coach of the Year accolade from his time in Division II.
 
The Hugh Durham award is named in honor of the former Florida State, Georgia and Jacksonville head coach. In eight seasons, at Jacksonville University, Durham became the Dolphins' all-time winningest Division I coach (106 wins), making him the only coach in NCAA history to be the winningest coach (pct. or wins) at three different Division I schools.

Durham coached Florida State and Georgia to a combined 8 NCAA Tournament  appearances, and 2 Final Fours. He is one of 17 coaches to take multiple teams to the Final Four.

Coaches of teams in the following conferences are eligible for the award: America East, ASUN, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Coastal Athletic, CUSA, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, MEAC, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, SWAC, Summit, Sun Belt, WAC, West Coast.

The recipient of the annual 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, site of the Division I men's basketball championship.

About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Divisions I and II.