BOSTON, Mass. – Missouri State men's basketball head coach Dana Ford was announced Tuesday evening as a finalist for the Ben Jobe National Coach of the Year Award, presented annually to the top Division I minority coach.

It marks the third time in Ford's eight seasons as a college head coach that he has been a finalist for this prestigious honor with previous nominations in 2016 and 2021. He was the national recipient of the Jobe Award in 2016 during his tenure as head coach at Tennessee State.
 
Joining Ford on the list of Ben Jobe Award finalists are: Kenny Blakeney (Howard), Mike Boynton (Oklahoma State), Landon Bussie (Alcorn State), Ed Cooley (Providence), Hubert Davis (North Carolina), Dana Ford (Missouri State), Dennis Gates (Cleveland State), Penny Hardaway (Memphis), Shaheen Holloway (Saint Peter's), Rob Jeter (Western Illinois), Terrence Johnson (Texas State), James Jones (Yale), Robert Jones (Norfolk State), Rob Lanier (Georgia State), Shantay Legans (Portland), Tony Madlock (South Carolina State), Bashir Mason (Wagner), Jordan Mincy (Jacksonville), Lamont Paris (Chattanooga), Richie Riley (South Alabama), Kelvin Sampson (Houston), Takayo Siddle (UNCW), Jerry Stackhouse (Vanderbilt), Dedrique Taylor (Cal State Fullerton), Drew Valentine (Loyola Chicago).

The 2022 Ben Jobe National Coach of the Year winner is expected to be announced on April 1.
 
In Ford's fourth season in Springfield, he led Missouri State to a 23-11 overall record and 13-5 ledger in the Missouri Valley Conference to finish second in the league. The Bears earned a berth in the National Invitation Tournament for the first time in 11 seasons and racked up the 10th-best win total in school history. The Bears also eclipsed single-season records for total points (2,628), 3-pointers (283) and free throw percentage (.797), while boasting the highest-scoring tandem in program history in All-MVC and NABC All-Region first-team honorees Isiaih Mosley and Gaige Prim who combined for 1,247 points.