Old Westbury, N.Y. (May 12, 2009) - NYIT head men’s basketball coach Sal Lagano has been selected as the winner of the 2009 College Basketball Official Association’s (CBOA) Sam Schoenfeld Sportsmanship award for the Metro-N.Y. area. Lagano will be honored at a special dinner on May 19, 2009.

Sam Schoenfeld was one of the CBOA's founding fathers. A former college basketball great, Sam possessed a great deal of energy, impeccable honesty and a charismatic personality. He espoused integrity and strong character, which set him apart from most men. A brief illness took Sam's life in early 1956 and as a result CBOA decided to memorialize Sam through an award that would be annually presented to a person who exemplified the principles and characteristics so prominently displayed by Sam Schoenfeld. Accordingly, the award is presented to the college or university, which in the judgment of the CBOA membership, best exemplifies "the highest degree of sportsmanship, character, and ethics among their players, coaches and spectators." This is the highest honor that CBOA annually bestows on any collegiate institution.

Over the past 12 years, Lagano has built the men's basketball team into one of the top programs in the East Coast Conference (ECC). In 2007-2008, Lagano led the Bears to their first ever ECC regular season championship in the teams history as NYIT compiled a 20-9 record, 15-5 in the ECC. It was the fifth 20 win season in NYIT men’s basketball history and Lagano’s second 20 win season. Prior to the 2005-2006 season, NYIT advanced to the conference tournament seven straight seasons and had a combined record of 73-46 overall, including 61- 33 during a four year stretch, which ranked in the top 10 in the region. In 2003-04 NYIT advanced to their first NCAA tournament appearance in more than 20 years. During that year, Lagano was named the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association Coach of the Year as he guided NYIT to 22 victories, only the fourth 20-win season and the second most in the program’s history.