UMass Minutemen Basketball - Coaches

Coaches

Though not a nationally recognized name, the program's coach with the most wins was Jack Leaman. Leaman guided Massachusetts to 217 wins, and coached players including Julius Erving, Al Skinner, and Rick Pitino. Though Leaman's last season as coach of the men's team was 1978-79, he remained a key part of the UMass Athletic Department until he died in 2004.

Perhaps the school's most recognizable coach was John Calipari. In 1988, the rookie head coach took over a program that was on a streak of 10-straight losing seasons and had not been to the NCAA tournament since 1962. Calipari led UMass to the NIT in his second season as head coach. In his fourth season, UMass won the A-10 regular season and tournament championships. Over the next few seasons, Calipari would take the team to new heights: the Sweet Sixteen (1992), the Elite Eight (1995), and frequent #1 rankings in the AP weekly poll. In 1996, the Minutemen reached the Final Four for the first time. After the 1995-96 season, Calipari left UMass for the NBA as the new head coach of the New Jersey Nets.

After Calipari resigned in 1996, his associate Bruiser Flint coached from 1996–2001, and Steve Lappas coached from 2001-05.

In 2005, Travis Ford replaced Lappas. Though the Minutemen struggled with a 13-15 record in Ford's first season of 2005-06, he quickly improved the team in the next two seasons. In 2006-07, the Minutemen were co-champions of the Atlantic 10 (along with Xavier), reached the second round of the NIT, and finished with a record of 24-9. In 2007-08, the Minutemen reached the NIT championship game, and finished with a record of 25-11. Following the 2007-08 season, his third with the Minutemen, he left to take the head coaching vacancy at Oklahoma State.

On April 23, 2008, former Minutemen player Derek Kellogg returned to Amherst and became the 21st coach of the program.