Humble Backgrounds: Small-School Grads Make Big News at NCAA DI Dance
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 five years ago. Following is an alphabetical list of 2019 NCAA Tournament mentors who worked their way up the ladder after graduating from a small school:
2019 NCAA Playoff Coach School Small-College Alma Mater John Beilein Michigan Wheeling Jesuit (N.Y.) '75 Randy Bennett Saint Mary's UC San Diego '86 John Calipari Kentucky Clarion (Pa.) State '82 Greg Gard Wisconsin Wisconsin-Platteville '95 Joe Golding Abilene Christian Abilene Christian (Tex.) '98 Leonard Hamilton Florida State Tennessee-Martin '71 Greg Herenda Fairleigh Dickinson Merrimack (Mass.) '83 Chris Holtmann Ohio State Taylor (Ind.) '94 Tom Izzo Michigan State Northern Michigan '77 Chris Jans New Mexico State Loras (Iowa) '91 Ritchie McKay Liberty Seattle Pacific '87 LeVelle Moton North Carolina Central North Carolina Central '96 Nate Oats Buffalo Maranatha Baptist (Wis.) '97 Mike Rhoades Virginia Commonwealth Lebanon Valley (Pa.) '94 David Richman North Dakota State North Dakota State '02 Kelvin Sampson Houston Pembroke (N.C.) State '78 Craig Smith Utah State North Dakota '96 Russell Turner UC Irvine Hampden-Sydney (Va.) '92 Brent "Buzz" Williams Virginia Tech Oklahoma City '94 Mike Young Wofford Emory & Henry (Va.) '86
NOTE: Abilene Christian, North Carolina Central, North Dakota, North Dakota State and Tennessee-Martin subsequently were classified as NCAA Division I universities.