Penn State men’s basketball head coach Pat Chambers has been named a semifinalist for the Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of The Year Award, the organization announced Friday.

The annual award is presented by the Atlanta Tipoff Club and is granted to the best men’s and women’s basketball coaches of the season and specifically focuses on a coach who achieves “tremendous on-court success.” Previous winners include big names including Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski and Villanova’s Jay Wright.

Chambers is the only coach in the Big Ten to be nominated as a semifinalist this year and could be the first Big Ten coach to win the award since Illinois’ Bruce Weber in 2005. He joins fellow semifinalists John Calipari (Kentucky), Scott Drew (Baylor), Brian Dutcher (San Diego State), Mark Few (Gonzaga), Anthony Grant (Dayton), Leonard Hamilton (Florida State), Greg McDermott (Creighton), Bruce Pearl (Auburn), and Mark Pope (BYU).

The award began in 1987 and is named after Dr. James Naismith, a hall of fame coach credited with inventing the game of basketball back in 1891.

Chambers is currently in the midst of his most successful season as Penn State’s head coach, boasting an impressive 21-9 overall record and 11 conference wins. The Nittany Lions picked up their first AP Top 25 Poll ranking since 1996 and eventually climbed as high as No. 9.

The No. 20 Nittany Lions will finish their regular season Saturday, March 7 in Evanston, Illinois when they take on Northwestern. Tipoff against the Wildcats is set for 4 p.m.