The Jewish Coaches Association (JCA) is a non-profit organization founded in 2005 that supports Jewish-American college, high school, and youth basketball coaches around the United States. The association is an advocacy group for coaches to represent coaches to the NCAA and National Association of Basketball Coaches. Founding members include Bobby Schwartz, founding national director; and Bruce Pearl, who served as the first president of the association.
The JCA holds an annual breakfast for Jewish coaches at the Final Four and sometimes offers Shabbat services for coaches and their families during the Final Four weekend of events. [1] [2] When Passover occurs during the Final Four, the JCA can help to organize seders for coaches and their families. The Red Auerbach Coach of the Year Award recognizes the most outstanding Jewish-American basketball coach of the year. [3] The Association takes nominations from its members and in March at the conclusion of conference tournament play the Board of Directors vote to determine a winner. The winner is presented the Red Auerbach Trophy [4] at the Final Four. [5]
The following are the recipients of the Red Auerbach Coach of the Year Award: [6]
Year | Coach | Team |
---|---|---|
2009 | Brad Greenberg | Radford |
2010 | Bruce Pearl | Tennessee |
2011 | Josh Pastner | Memphis |
2012 | Andy Yosinoff | Emmanuel |
2013 | Keith Dambrot | Akron |
2014 | Josh Schertz | Lincoln Memorial |
2015 | Scott Garson | College of Idaho |
2016 | Eran Ganot | Hawaii |
2017 | Steve DeMeo | Northwest Florida State |
2018 | Bruce Pearl (2) | Auburn Tigers |
2019 | Dana Pump | Lifetime Achievement Award |
David Pump | ||
2022 | Todd Golden | San Francisco |
2023 | Joe Pasternack | UC Santa Barbara |
2024 | Bob Pietrack | Fort Lewis |
2025 | Dave Klatsky | NYU Bobcat men's basketball |
The JCA provides a number of programs during the year in order to better service and promote its members. These programs include: