STANDISH, ME – The Great Northeast Athletic Conference yearly honors have been announced and Saint Joseph's College Head Coach Rob  Sanicola '99 has garnered the 2010-11 GNAC Coach of the Year award.

Coach Sanicola, 139-79 (.638) in his career, has guided the Monks to a 20-7 record overall and a 15-3 mark in conference play this season. The GNAC record yielded the #1 seed in the conference tournament, and home-court advantage throughout the tourney, for the Royal Blue.

Saint Joseph's defeated #8 Mount Ida and #4 Norwich in tournament quarterfinal and semifinal contests, respectively, this week and will host #2 Johnson & Wales University in the GNAC Championship at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday at 2:00 PM.

For Coach Sanicola, the GNAC Coach of the Year honor is his second in the last three seasons. He earned the same accolade in 2009 when he led his team to a GNAC Championship title as the #3 seed.

Sanicola has also garnered Maine Men's Basketball Coaches and Writers Association (MMBCWA) Coach of the Year honors twice and was selected as the NCAA DIII Independent Coach of the Year following the 2006-07 campaign.

Sanicola has been involved with the men's basketball program since the 1995-96 season when he began his career as a player for Head Coach Rick Simonds. Following four years as a standout player, Sanicola served as an assistant coach under Simonds for four years before taking the reins as the team's clipboard carrier prior to the 2003-04 campaign.

In all, Sanicola has been a part of 303 wins and 134 losses during his 16 years as a player, assistant and head coach at Saint Joseph's College. The Monks have posted a corresponding .693 winning percentage during this span.