Lake Forest College Men's Basketball Head Coach Chris Conger has been named the Midwest District Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. Conger, a Green Bay native and former Wisconsin Badger, was one of eight coaches honored across the country. 

Conger guided the Foresters to a 17-6 overall record and the school's first-ever outright Midwest Conference Championship, compiling a 16-0 conference mark. The Foresters finished the season ranked fourth in the Midwest Region, the highest such ranking in school history. These accomplishments are even more impressive when considering that Lake Forest compiled a meager 4-18 mark in 1998-99 and entered the 1999-2000 season picked to finish ninth in the ten-team MWC.

This is the second Coach of the Year award Conger has garnered this year. Earlier this month he was named the Midwest Conference Coach of the Year. It was the second Conference Coach of the Year honor Conger has received in his four-year Lake Forest coaching career. He was also bestowed the honor in 1997-98 when he guided the Foresters to their first MWC Championship Tournament.

"More than anything that I have done, this award is more a tribute to the effort that the entire coaching staff has put in during the last couple of years and the commitment that the players have made into transforming this program," Conger stated. "It really is rewarding the program as a whole."

Conger is assisted by Scott Rucker, in his third season, Brian Sommerhauser, in his second season, and Mike Hirsch, in his first year with Lake Forest.