Named after the former high school and college coach, the NABC Cliff Wells Appreciation Award recognizes individuals whose efforts have made a significant impact on the NABC.
| 1974 | Tom Scott, Davidson |
| Eddie Einhorn, TVS | |
| Arthur Bergstrom, NCAA Official | |
| 1976 | Joe Dean, Converse |
| Ray Marquette, USBWA | |
| John Goldner, Madison Square Garden | |
| 1977 | Bob Hillyard, Hillyard Company |
| Grady Lewis, Converse | |
| Al Saake, Hawaii | |
| 1980 | Ed Steitz, Springfield |
| 1981 | Ernie Casale, Temple |
| 1982 | Roal Sorenson, Sorenson-Christian Co. |
| 1983 | Bob Knight, Army |
| 1984 | Ray Meyer, DePaul |
| 1985 | Marv Harshman, Washington |
| 1986 | Joyce St. John, NABC |
| 1987 | Bill Wall, ABAUSA |
| 1988 | Walter Byers, NCAA |
| 1989 | Ralph Miller, Oregon State |
| 1990 | Abe Lemons, Oklahoma State |
| 1991 | C.M. Newton, Kentucky |
| 1992 | Dick Schultz, NCAA |
| 1994 | Vic Bubas, Sun Belt Conference |
| 1995 | Tom Butters, Duke |
| 1996 | Billy Packer, CBS Sports |
| 1997 | Bob Frederick, Kansas |
| 1998 | Jerry Krause, Army |
| 1999 | Joe Tydlaska, NABC |
| 2000 | Dick Vitale, ESPN |
| 2001 | Reggie Minton, NABC |
| Jim Host, Host Communications Inc. | |
| 2002 | Arthur McAfee, Morehouse |
| 2003 | Jim Carolus, Hillyard Company |
| Bob Roth, Hillyard Company | |
| 2004 | Rick Leddy, NABC |
| 2005 | Hank Nichols, NCAA Official |
| 2007 | Kay Barnes, Mayor of Kansas City, Mo. |
| Bill Hall, Hall Family Foundation | |
| 2008 | George Raveling, Nike |
| 2009 | Myles Brand, NCAA |
| 2011 | Dan Guerrero, UCLA |
| 2013 | David Berst, NCAA |
| 2014 | Carey Harveycutter, Salem Civic Center |
| 2016 | Gary Heise, Premier Sports Management |
| 2018 | Mike Slive, SEC |
| 2019 | Joe Mitch, USBWA |
| 2021 | Jim Delany, Big Ten Conference |
| 2022 | Brett Fuller, NABC Committee on Racial Reconciliation |
| 2023 | J.D. Collins, NCAA/NCAA Official |
| 2024 | D3hoops.com |