Humble Backgrounds: Small-School Grads Make Big News as Playoff Coaches

March 14th, 2016 - 19:18

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 three years ago. Following is an alphabetical list of 2016 NCAA Tournament mentors who worked their way up the ladder after graduating from a small school:

2016 NCAA Playoff Coach School Small-College Alma Mater
Dana Altman Oregon Eastern New Mexico '80
John Beilein Michigan Wheeling Jesuit (N.Y.) '75
John Calipari Kentucky Clarion (Pa.) State '82
Bill Carmody Holy Cross Union (N.Y.) '75
Ed Cooley Providence Stonehill (Mass.) '94
Andy Enfield Southern California Johns Hopkins (Md.) '91
Eran Ganot Hawaii Swarthmore (Pa.) '03
Greg Gard Wisconsin Wis.-Platteville '95
Frank Haith Tulsa Elon (N.C.) '88
Greg Herenda Fairleigh Dickinson Merrimack (Mass.) '83
Chris Holtmann Butler Taylor (Ind.) '94
Tom Izzo Michigan State Northern Michigan '77
Ben Jacobson Northern Iowa North Dakota '93
James Jones Yale Albany (N.Y.) '86
Edward Joyner Jr. Hampton Johnson C. Smith (N.C.) '95
Kevin Keatts UNC Wilmington Ferrum (Va.) '95
Gregg Marshall Wichita State Randolph-Macon (Va.) '85
Phil Martelli Saint Joseph's Widener (Pa.) '76
Scott Nagy South Dakota State Delta State (Miss.) '88
Nate Oats Buffalo Maranatha Baptist (Wis.) '97
Randy Rahe Weber State Buena Vista (Colo.) '82
Shaka Smart Texas Kenyon (Ohio) '99
Tubby Smith Texas Tech High Point (N.C.) '73
Rodney Terry Fresno State St. Edward's (Tex.) '90

NOTE: Albany, Elon, High Point and North Dakota are now classified as NCAA Division I universities.