Familiar Surroundings: Graduates Guiding Alma Mater in 2026 NCAA Tourney
March 16th, 2026 - 11:58
When Thomas Wolfe penned, "you can never come home again," he didn't have some successful college basketball coaches in mind. Playoff participation must be extra gratifying for the following eight individuals guiding their alma mater in college basketball's grandest prize - a berth in the NCAA Tournament (five of them from power-conference members):
2026 NCAA Playoff Coach Alma Mater First Season as School's Head Coach Craig "Speedy" Claxton Hofstra '00 2021-22 Hubert Davis North Carolina '92 2021-22 Jamie Dixon Texas Christian '87 2016-17 (after Pittsburgh) Fran McCaffery Penn '82 2025-26 (after UNC Greensboro, Siena and Iowa) Matt Painter Purdue '93 2005-06 (after Southern Illinois) Mark Pope Kentucky '96 2024-25 (after Utah Valley and Brigham Young) Dave Richman North Dakota State '98 2014-15 Jon Scheyer Duke '10 2022-23