Written by: D.J. Johnson

Keith Dambrot had another historic season in 2012 with The University of Akron men’s basketball program.

March 21 was the icing on the cake for the head coach, as the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) named him one of two All-District coaches for District 14.

“This is a unique honor, as it is voted on by our peers, and is a great sign of respect among the coaching community,” Dambrot said. “I am honored to be named an All-District coach.”

The eighth-year head coach was joined by Eastern Michigan’s Rob Murphy in representing the Mid-American Conference (MAC) as two of the 27 coaches that were named to the list. Dambrot and Murphy became the seventh and eighth MAC coaches to be recognized by the NABC since it started the award in 1970.

Dambrot, after finishing the season at the 22-12 mark, became the first Akron head coach to earn NABC all-district honors. Akron eclipsed the 20-win mark for the seventh straight season, becoming one of 17 teams in Division I to do so (out of 345).

He led the Zips to a 13-3 conference record and brought UA its first MAC regular-season title in school history. The Zips advanced to a sixth-straight MAC Championship game, which plays as the longest streak in conference history and the second-longest active streak in the country (Gonzaga, 15).

Akron’s NIT berth became the schools’ fifth-straight season with a postseason appearance, and sixth in seven seasons.

The NABC is home to nearly 5,000 members and consists predominantly of university and college men’s basketball coaches.