BOSTON – For the second consecutive season, University of Dayton men's basketball coach Archie Miller was named one of 21 finalists for the 2016 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award.
 
Miller, 37, just completed his fifth season at UD. His record of 115-55 is already fifth all-time at Dayton, and his winning percentage of .676 trails only Tom Blackburn.  

He is one of six coaches who have been an award finalist in back-to-back seasons. The others are Dana Altman (Oregon), Tony Bennett (Virginia), Tom Crean (Indiana), Bob Huggins (West Virginia) and Jay Wright (Villanova).

Dayton was 25-8 overall in 2015-16 and earned a share of the Atlantic 10 regular season championship. Miller has led the Flyers to three consecutive NCAA appearances for the first time in 49 years.
 
Miller is one of five active coaches with at least five NCAA wins in his first four seasons. The others are Mark Few, Thad Matta, Shaka Smart and Roy Williams.  

Dayton is one of just 14 teams in Division I to have at least 25 wins in the last three seasons. The Flyers' 78 wins over the last three years are the most since 1952.
 
The award is named in honor of Jim Phelan who coached his entire career at Mount Saint Mary's University. He led the Mountaineers to the 1962 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Championship. When he retired in 2003, after coaching for 49 years, he amassed 830 wins (overall record of 830-524) in over 1,300 games in all divisions. In those 49 years, 19 of his teams amassed 20 or more wins in a season.

The recipient of the 2016 Jim Phelan Award will be announced on April 1 at the CollegeInsider.com Awards Presentation in Houston Texas, site of the Men's NCAA Basketball Championship.