NABC Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The NABC has announced the recipients of the 2026 NABC Guardians of the Game pillar awards. The awards are presented each year at the NABC Convention to coaches, administrators and contributors who embody the NABC's core values of leadership, service, education, advocacy, and inclusion.
Receiving the 2026 NABC Guardians of the Game awards are: for Leadership, High Point assistant coach Ben Fletcher; for Advocacy, Wake Forest head coach Steve Forbes; for Inclusion, Fordham head coach
Mike Magpayo; for Service, NCAA Vice President of Men's Basketball JoAn Scott; and for Education presented by SuperNetworking Academy, Iowa Community College Athletic Conference Commissioner Thom McDonald.
"The NABC Guardians of the Game platform is a reflection of the impact coaches and industry leaders make on campuses and communities across the country," said NABC Executive Director Craig Robinson. "This year's recipients embrace that their jobs are about much more than basketball, and the NABC is honored to celebrate them with these prestigious Guardians of the Game awards."
NABC Guardians of the Game Award for Inclusion – Mike Magpayo, Fordham head coach
Mike Magpayo is currently serving his first season as head coach at Fordham following a five-year head coaching tenure at UC Riverside. He won 89 games at UC Riverside and was named the Big West Coach of the Year in 2023 after leading the Highlanders to a program-record 22 wins. Magpayo – the first Division I men's basketball head coach of Asian American descent – is also the founder and president of the Asian Coaches Association, which supports and elevates Asian basketball coaches at all levels.
Magpayo will be presented that award at the 2026 NABC Convention to be held during the NCAA Final Four in Indianapolis.
Magpayo, who was named a finalist for the
Skip Prosser Award yesterday, leads the Rams into action on Wednesday night, March 4, at La Salle University at 6:30 p.m. The Rams are 16-13 overall this year, 7-9 in the Atlantic 10.
