Adolph Rupp Cup

This article is about the NCAA basketball coach award. For the NCAA basketball player award, see Adolph Rupp Trophy. For the collegiate wrestling rivalry, see Rupp Cup.

Adolph Rupp Cup

Awarded for	the nation's NCAA Division I head coach "who best exemplifies excellence in his dedication to the game of basketball and to his student athletes"
Country	United States
Presented by	Commonwealth Athletic Club of Kentucky
History
First award	2004
Final award	2015

The Adolph Rupp Cup was an award given annually from 2004 through 2015 to the NCAA Division I men's college basketball head coach "who best exemplifies excellence in his dedication to the game of basketball and to his student athletes." ^[1] It was considered a national coach of the year award ^[2] and was named for former University of Kentucky head coach Adolph Rupp, who compiled an overall record of 876–190 with four recognized national championships and one National Invitation Tournament (NIT) championship. ^[3] Rupp coached Kentucky from 1930 to 1972 and his career winning percentage of 82.2% is still the NCAA Division I record. The Adolph Rupp Cup was presented by the Commonwealth Athletic Club of Kentucky. ^[4]

Key

Coach (X)	Denotes the number of times the coach has been awarded the Adolph Rupp Cup at that point
W, L, W %	Total wins, total losses, win percentage
Finish	Postseason tournament result

Winners

Roy Williams, North Carolina, 2006

Bo Ryan, Wisconsin, 2007

Rick Pitino, Louisville, 2009

Steve Fisher, San Diego State, 2011

Season	Coach	School	W	L	W %	Finish	Reference
2003–04	Phil Martelli	Saint Joseph's	30	2	.938	NCAA Elite Eight	[2]
2004–05	Bruce Weber	Illinois	37	2	.949	NCAA runner-up	[5]
2005–06	Roy Williams	North Carolina	23	8	.742	NCAA Second Round	[6]
2006–07	Bo Ryan	Wisconsin	30	6	.833	NCAA Second Round	[3]
2007–08	Bruce Pearl	Tennessee	31	5	.861	NCAA Sweet Sixteen	[4]
2008–09	Rick Pitino	Louisville	31	6	.838	NCAA Elite Eight	[7]
2009–10	John Calipari	Kentucky	35	3	.921	NCAA Elite Eight	[8]
2010–11	Steve Fisher	San Diego State	34	3	.919	NCAA Sweet Sixteen	[9]
2011–12	Bill Self	Kansas	32	7	.821	NCAA runner-up	[7]
2012–13	Jim Larrañaga	Miami (Florida)	29	7	.806	NCAA Sweet Sixteen	[10]
2013–14	Gregg Marshall	Wichita State	35	1	.972	NCAA Round of 32 [a]	[1]
2014–15	John Calipari (2)	Kentucky	38	1	.974	NCAA Final Four	[11]

• ^a The NCAA men's tournament expanded to 68 teams starting in 2011, with the last four teams earning bids into the tournament set in competition with one another via "First Four" play-in games. ^[12] The 'Second Round' then became more commonly referred to as 'Round of 32' for specificity.

See also

• Adolph Rupp Trophy – an award that was given annually to the nation's top NCAA Division I men's basketball player from 1971 to 2015

References

1. "Gregg Marshall (entering 2020–21)". GoShockers.com. Wichita, Kansas: Sidearm Sports. 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2026. Marshall was named Naismith National Coach of the Year, NABC National Coach of he Year, AP Coach of the Year and Henry Iba National Coach of the Year. He was also awarded the Adolph Rupp Cup, given to the coach "who best exemplifies excellence in his dedication to the game of basketball and to his student athletes."
2. "Hawks' Nelson earns another honor". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. April 2, 2004. p. D03. Retrieved January 22, 2026– via Newspapers.com. St. Joe's Phil Martelli, whose team went 30–2, rose to No. 1 in the polls, and advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tourney, was named the winner of the inaugural Adolph Rupp Cup as Division I coach of the year.
3. "Ryan to receive Rupp cup". Portage Daily Register . Portage, Wisconsin. March 29, 2007. p. 12. Retrieved January 22, 2026– via Newspapers.com. The awards are named after the legendary University of Kentucky coach, who retired in 1972 with 876 victories and four NCAA championships to his credit.
4. "Tennessee's Bruce Pearl named Adolph Rupp coach of the year". The Daily News . Bowling Green, Kentucky. April 5, 2008. p. B6. Retrieved January 22, 2026– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Weber gets surprised by mentor". The Tennessean . Nashville, Tennessee. April 1, 2005. p. C4. Retrieved January 22, 2026– via Newspapers.com.
6. Barnhouse, Wendell (March 31, 2006). "Redick, Williams honored". Fort Worth Star-Telegram . Fort Worth, Texas. p. C10. Retrieved January 22, 2026– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Adolph Rupp Cup winners". sports-reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. 2026. Retrieved January 22, 2026.
8. Clay, John (April 2, 2010). "Wall and Calipari receive Rupp honors". Lexington Herald-Leader . Lexington, Kentucky. p. 13. Retrieved January 22, 2026– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Steve Fisher Earns 2011 Adolph Rupp Cup". GoAztecs.com. San Diego, California: San Diego State University. March 31, 2011. Retrieved January 22, 2026.
10. Lichtenstein, Adam (October 18, 2022). "Jim Larrañaga highlights Miami Hurricanes' 10-member Hall of Fame class". Orlando Sentinel . Orlando, Florida . Retrieved January 22, 2026.
11. "Kentucky's Calipari first to win Rupp award twice". Lexington Herald-Leader. Lexington, Kentucky. April 7, 2015. Retrieved January 22, 2026.
12. Hall, Cora (November 2, 2025). "Why Barnes has concerns about NCAA tournament expansion". Knoxville News Sentinel . Knoxville, Tennessee. p. B2. Retrieved January 22, 2026– via Newspapers.com.