STANDISH, ME – Saint Joseph's College Men's Basketball Head Coach Rob Sanicola '99 was presented with the 2009-10 Collegiate Basketball Officials Association (CBOA) Schoenfeld Award for the New England East Region on Tuesday evening at an awards ceremony held at the Portland Expo.

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."

Sam Schoenfeld was a former college basketball great who possessed a great deal of energy, honesty and had a wonderful personality. He was one of the CBOA's founding fathers. Sam 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. This is the highest honor that CBOA annually bestows on any collegiate institution.

Saint Joseph's, a member of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference, follows the league's philosophy - which focuses on the tenets of sportsmanship, integrity and community – as a basketball program and athletic department in all events and endeavors throughout the academic year.

The Monks led all of NCAA DIII Men's Basketball in fewest fouls per contest, with a 13.0 average, last winter.

(L-R) CBOA New England Assignor Larry Last, Anthony Savino '11, Tyler Kelley '11, Eric Friend '11, CBOA Eastern New England Rep. Richard Napolitano, Coach Sanicola & Audrey Sanicola

The Collegiate Basketball Officials Association, Inc., now in its 53rd year was formally organized on June 8, 1948, with 37 charter members. The organization was an outgrowth of informal discussion among leading officials who envisioned such a need. The greatest impetus came from five men - Sam Schoenfeld, Hagen Andersen, Matty Begovich, John Nucatola and Lou Eisenstein. These men, motivated by a desire to further intercollegiate basketball and to improve basketball officiating, conducted informal meetings with the then Collegiate Basketball Officials Bureau (now Eastern College Men's Basketball Association), leading to the formation of CBOA. New officials have been added annually until today there are over 700 members in all divisions residing in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.