Humble Backgrounds: Small-College Grads Make Major News as DI Coaches

March 13th, 2017 - 18:22

In a caste-like era separating the haves from the have-nots, imperial universities are seeking mega-conferences and, perhaps in the near future, a restrictive upper division. But the socially elite won't ever be able to exclude small schools from making a big impact on the NCAA playoffs.

Smaller colleges, many of them in the hinterlands, have supplied a striking number of the biggest names in coaching. From 1995 through 2000, five of the six NCAA Tournament championship coaches (Jim Calhoun, Jim Harrick, Tom Izzo, Lute Olson and Tubby Smith) graduated from obscure colleges with smaller enrollments. In fact, it is a rarity for a Final Four not to feature at least one coach who graduated from a non-Division I school.

John Calipari, a graduate of Clarion (Pa.) State, guided Kentucky to the 2012 national championship before Michigan's John Beilein (Wheeling Jesuit, NY) and Wichita State's Gregg Marshall (Randolph-Macon VA) directed teams to the Final Four four years ago. Following is an alphabetical list of 2017 NCAA Tournament mentors who worked their way up the ladder after graduating from a small school:

2017 NCAA Playoff Coach School Small-College Alma Mater
Dana Altman Oregon Eastern New Mexico '80
John Becker Vermont Catholic (D.C.) '90
John Beilein Michigan Wheeling Jesuit (N.Y.) '75
Randy Bennett Saint Mary's UC San Diego '85
John Calipari Kentucky Clarion (Pa.) State '82
Ed Cooley Providence Stonehill (Mass.) '94
Phil Cunningham Troy Campbellsville (Ky.) '90
Nathan Davis Bucknell Randolph-Macon (Va.) '97
Andy Enfield Southern California Johns Hopkins (Md.) '91
Steve Forbes East Tennessee State Southern Arkansas '88
Greg Gard Wisconsin Wis.-Platteville '95
Leonard Hamilton Florida State Tennessee-Martin '71
Ray Harper Jacksonville State Kentucky Wesleyan '85
Chris Holtmann Butler Taylor (Ind.) '94
Tom Izzo Michigan State Northern Michigan '77
Kevin Keatts UNC Wilmington Ferrum (Va.) '95
Gregg Marshall Wichita State Randolph-Macon (Va.) '85
LeVelle Moton North Carolina Central North Carolina Central '96
T.J. Otzelberger South Dakota State Wis.-Whitewater '01
Rod Senderoff Kent State Albany (N.Y.) ' 95
Mark Slessinger New Orleans Aurora (Ill.) '95
Paul Weir New Mexico State York (Toronto, Canada)
Brent "Buzz" Williams Virginia Tech Oklahoma City '94

NOTE: Albany, North Carolina Central and Tennessee-Martin subsequently were classified as NCAA Division I universities.