Voters for the Naismith Award, given annually to the top men’s and women’s coach in Division 1 college basketball, were shocked and dismayed to learn that they had unintentionally confused Richard Pitino (the 34 year old head coach of the Minnesota Golden Gophers) with his much older father, Rick Pitino. The error was first pointed out on Twitter by non-Medill School of Journalism graduates who follow college basketball.
“I’m simply mortified by the error” said Arnold Spencer, who has voted for the award for decades. “I honestly thought that Rick Pitino guy had finally gotten the fresh start he deserved in Minnesota.