Deans of Coaches: Coach K is Only King of Conference More Than 25 Years

"Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Extensive coaching turnover and league realigning has left Duke's Mike Krzyzewski as the only active coach to be in the same alliance more than the last 25 years. Coach K moved atop the dean-of-coaches list two seasons ago after Syracuse and Jim Boeheim switched to join Krzyzewski in the Atlantic Coast Conference after 34 years in the Big East.

As league play shifts into high gear, following are the longest-tenured active coaches in their present Division I conference (including 2015-16 campaign):

Longest-Tenured Coach School Years NCAA Division I Conference
Mike Krzyzewski Duke 36 Atlantic Coast
Dave Loos Austin Peay 24 Ohio Valley
Phil Martelli Saint Joseph's 21 Atlantic 10
Mike McConathy Northwestern State 21 Southland
Cy Alexander North Carolina A&T 20 Mid-Eastern Athletic
Tom Izzo Michigan State 20 Big Ten
Fran O'Hanlon Lafayette 20 Patriot League
Howie Dickenman Central Connecticut State 19 Northeast
Lorenzo Romar Washington 18 Pac-12
Bob Williams UC Santa Barbara 18 Big West
James Jones Yale 17 Ivy League
Kevin Stallings Vanderbilt 17 SEC
Mark Few Gonzaga 16 West Coast
Steve Fisher San Diego State 16 Mountain West
Will Brown Albany 15 America East
James "Bruiser" Flint Drexel 15 CAA
Jay Wright Villanova 15 Big East
Keith Dambrot Akron 14 Mid-American
Kermit Davis Middle Tennessee 14 Sun Belt
Mike Young Wofford 14 Southern
Bill Self Kansas 13 Big 12
Barry Hinson Southern Illinois 12 Missouri Valley
Lewis Jackson Alabama State 11 SWAC
Rob Jeter Milwaukee 11 Horizon League
Barclay Radebaugh Charleston Southern 11 Big South
John Dunne Saint Peter's 10 Metro Atlantic Athletic
Randy Rahe Weber State 10 Big Sky
Marvin Menzies New Mexico State 9 Western Athletic
Scott Nagy South Dakota State 9 Summit League
Eddie Payne USC Upstate 9 Atlantic Sun
Tim Floyd Texas-El Paso 6 Conference USA

NOTE: Alexander's first 16 seasons in MEAC were with South Carolina State, Dambrot's first two seasons in MAC were with Central Michigan and Hinson's first nine seasons in MVC were with Missouri State.