Reggie Minton, a 1963 College of Wooster alum, was this year's recipient of the National Association of Basketball Coaches' Metropolitan Award, a prestigious honor recognizing long and outstanding service to men's college basketball. He was presented it at the AT&T NABC Guardians of the Game Awards Show, held Sunday night in conjunction with the NCAA Div. I Final Four in Houston, Texas.
Following his playing career at Wooster, in which he graduated as a top-10 all-time leading scorer with 1,002 points, Minton entered the United States Air Force. While serving as an officer for more than 20 years, he became a staple on the sideline starting in 1969 as an assistant coach.
Minton, who was inducted into the W Association Hall of Fame in 1976, briefly left the Air Force to become the head coach at Darmouth College in 1983, but then returned one season later to take over the Falcons' program. He was the head coach there for 16 seasons – the longest stint in Air Force's team history – and served many roles with USA Basketball during that time, including a term as a member of the board of directors.
Minton joined the NABC as associate executive director in 2000, then was elevated to deputy executive director in 2004.
He has been on a number of committees throughout his career, including currently serving as chairman of the selection committee for the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame and chairman of the NIT selection committee, as a board of trustees member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, and as liaison in the NABC's collaboration with the American Cancer Society, Coaches vs. Cancer.
The Metropolitan Award has a long and storied history, which began in New York City, with the Metropolitan Basketball Association first presenting it in 1941. Over the eight decades since, some of college basketball's biggest names have been honored with it, including Mike Krzyzewski, Rick Pitino, Adolph Rupp, Dean Smith, Roy Williams, and John Wooden.