| Great West Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year | |
 | |
| Awarded for | the most outstanding basketball player in the Great West Conference |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| First awarded | 2010 |
The Great West Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year is an annual basketball award given to the Great West Conference's (GWC) most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 2009–10 season, the conference's first as a member of NCAA Division I. The GWC was officially formed on February 25, 2004 as a football–only conference.[1] On July 10, 2008, it was announced that the GWC would change from a football–only conference into an all–sports conference. The following season (2008–09) competition began in a limited number of other sports such as track and field, cross country and golf.[1] Basketball officially started in 2009–10.
The Great West Conference Basketball Tournament winners will not receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament until 2020.[2] They are, however, awarded an automatic bid to the fairly new CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, which was established in 2008–09.[2]
Tyler Cain, a 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) senior power forward from the University of South Dakota, was the first–ever Great West Men's Basketball Player of the Year.[3]
Key[]
| † | Co-Players of the Year |
| * | Awarded a national Player of the Year award: the Naismith College Player of the Year or the John R. Wooden Award |
| Player (X) | Denotes the number of times the player has been awarded the Player of the Year award at that point |
Winners[]
| Season | Player | School | Position | Class | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009–10 | Tyler Cain | South Dakota | Power forward | Senior | [3] |
| 2010–11 | Isiah Williams | Utah Valley | Shooting guard | Junior | [4] |
Winners by school[]
| School (year joined) | Winners | Years |
|---|---|---|
| South Dakota[a] (2008) | 1 | 2010 |
| Utah Valley (2008) | 1 | 2011 |
| Chicago State (2008) | 0 | — |
| Houston Baptist (2008) | 0 | — |
| NJIT (2008) | 0 | — |
| North Dakota (2008) | 0 | — |
| Texas–Pan American (2008) | 0 | — |
Footnotes[]
- a The University of South Dakota will be joining The Summit League starting in 2011–12.[5]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "About the Great West Conference". GWC History. Great West Conference. 2010. http://www.greatwestconference.org/about-gwfc/gwfc-about-gwfc.html. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Great West Granted Automatic Bid Into CIT Field". Great West Conference. 29 September 2009. http://www.greatwestconference.org/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/092909aab.html. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "South Dakota's Tyler Cain Leads GWC All–Conference Men's Basketball Team" (Press release). Great West Conference. 9 March 2010. http://www.greatwestconference.org/sports/m-baskbl/spec-rel/030910aab.html. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ "University of South Dakota Accepts Invitation to Join Summit League" (Press release). The Summit League. 2010. http://www.thesummitleague.org/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=3900&ATCLID=3720305. Retrieved 21 May 2010.