Utah Tech head men’s basketball coach Jon Judkins has been named one of 25 finalists for the 2025-26 Hugh Durham Award, according to an announcement from CollegeInsider.com. The award is presented annually to the top mid-major head coach in college basketball.
Judkins, recognized as the winningest collegiate coach in Utah, led the Trailblazers to an 11-game improvement compared to last season and secured a top three finish in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) regular season. Over his career, Judkins has amassed 640 wins across 34 seasons, including 356 victories during his 21 years at Utah Tech.
The Hugh Durham Award honors its namesake, who coached at Florida State, Georgia, and Jacksonville. “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.” The release further notes: “He built national programs at Florida State where he holds the record for best winning percentage with a 230-95 (.708) record in 12 years and at Georgia where he is also the all-time winningest coach in the 99-year history of the Bulldog program, having won 297 games in 17 seasons.”
Durham’s coaching career includes leading Florida State and Georgia to a combined eight NCAA Tournament appearances and two Final Fours. He is among just seventeen coaches who have taken multiple teams to the Final Four.
Eligibility for this award extends to coaches from conferences such as America East, ASUN, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), Conference USA (CUSA), Horizon League, Independents, Ivy League, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), Mid-American Conference (MAC), Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC), Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), Northeast Conference (NEC), Ohio Valley Conference (OVC), Patriot League, Southern Conference (SoCon), Southland Conference, Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), Summit League, Sun Belt Conference, WAC and West Coast Conference.
The winner will be selected by a committee of ten members that includes current and former head coaches as well as two senior staff members from CollegeInsider.com. The recipient will be announced in Indianapolis during the men’s Division I Basketball Championship.
