2016 Bevo Francis Award Winner
Dominez Burnett, Davenport (Click Here)
2017 Bevo Francis Award Winner
Justin Pitts, NW MO State (Click Here)
2018 Bevo Francis Award Winner
Emanuel Terry, Lincoln Memorial (Click Here)
2019 Bevo Francis Award Winner
Aston Francis, Wheaton (Click Here)
2020 Bevo Francis Award Winner
Kyle Mangas, Indiana Wesleyan (Click Here)
Members of the National Awards Committee include the following coaches: Gary Stewart - Stevenson (MD), Chris Briggs - Georgetown College (KY), Bill Dreikosen - Rocky Mountain (MT), Mark Berokoff - Oklahoma City, Mike Donnelly - Florida Southern, Sam Hargraves - Olivet, Richard Westerlund - Great Lakes Christian, Chase Teichmann - Florida College, Aaron Siebenthall - Ottawa (KS), Mark Vanderslice - USC - Aiken, Matt O'Brien - Southwestern (KS), Chris Wright - Langston (OK), Ben Thompson - Emory & Henry, Justin Leslie - Midwestern State, Raul Placeres - Maryville College (TN), Chris Martin - Loras (IA), John Lamanna - Whitman (WA), Brian Miller - MSOE, Justin Downer - Point Loma Nazarene.
BEVO FRANCIS AWARD
The Clarence “Bevo” Francis Award is presented annually to the player who has had the finest overall season within Small College Basketball. Considerations will be season statistics and individual achievements, awards, personal character and team achievements. This is an incredibly prestigious award, as this award will only be given to one player within Small College Basketball per season.
April 5, 2024 Finalists
2022 Bevo Francis Award Winner
Trevor Hudgins, NW MO State (Click Here)
2023 Bevo Francis Award Winner
RJ Sunahar, Nova Southeastern (Click Here)
The evaluation process for the Bevo Francis Award is an ongoing process; as such, there is not a nomination form or deadlines. We will publish Watch Lists of 100 players on January 15, 50 players on February 15, and 25 players on March 15. On April 2, we will release a video of the finalists, and the Bevo Francis Award will be presented in person shortly thereafter on April 4. The e-mail address to send nominations and detailed information is bevofrancisaward@gmail.com. To send physical information to Small College Basketball, P.O. Box 60785, Ft. Myers, FL 33906
About Bevo Francis
Bevo Francis played at Rio Grande College (now the University of Rio Grande) in Ohio in 1952-53 and 1953-54. When he arrived on campus, the school had 38 male students enrolled in the school and was on the verge of bankruptcy, planning to close its doors at the end of the 1952-53 school year. In the season before Bevo arrived at Rio Grande, the Redmen (now the Red Storm) had gone 4-19.
During his two seasons at Rio Grande, Bevo became the most popular basketball player in the world, and ultimately helped to save the school from bankruptcy. During his first year, the Redmen went 39-0, and Bevo scored 1,954 points and averaged 50.1 points per game. Against Ashland College (KY), Francis scored 116 points, which included 55 points in the final 10 minutes of the game.
(You can learn more about Bevo Francis through the Bevo Francis page on the Rio Grande website: http://www.rioredstorm.com/f/Bevo.php).
Articles about Bevo Francis
Remembering the Great Bevo Francis
http://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2015-11-22/college-basketball-remembering-great-bevo-francis
At One Time, Everyone Knew Bevo Francis
http://espn.go.com/classic/biography/s/Francis_Bevo.html
Bevo Francis Wikipedia page
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bevo_Francis
Hero Sports Feature on Bevo Francis Award
http://herosports.com/collegebasketball/new-award-honors-top-player-across-divisions-small-college-basketball/
Video about Bevo Francis
They Could Really Play The Game
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioPBkpF-V5A
