Ford has diverse resume
OSU's Ford has diverse resume
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By Andrea Cohen
Published: April 17, 2008
STILLWATER — Author, actor, fixer-upper.
It appears
Oklahoma State has hired a man of many interests in basketball coach
Travis Ford, who accepted an offer to become
OSU's next men's basketball coach on Wednesday.
Ford has written a book about playing basketball at
Kentucky ("Big Blue Dreams”), appeared in a movie ("The Sixth Man” in 1997) and taken over ailing basketball programs at Eastern Kentucky (2000-05) and the
University of Massachusetts (05-08).
Both schools had losing records before his arrival — EKU went 9-44 and UMass went 26-31 in the two seasons before Ford took over. In his first year EKU went 7-19, but the Colonels won more games each of Ford's last three years, culminating in 2005 with a 22-9 record, a conference championship and a trip to the
NCAA Tournament, EKU's first since 1979.
In three years at UMass, Ford compiled a 62-35 record and went to the NIT in his last two years. Ford's overall record as a Division I coach is 123-115 with one NCAA Tournament appearance.
Oklahoma State athletic director
Mike Holder declined to comment at length about the hire. A news conference introducing Ford is scheduled for 2 p.m. today.
"Athletics is about coaches and athletes, not athletic directors,” Holder said Wednesday evening. "He's the show now.”
Ford is Holder's first revenue-sport hire. The search process lasted 15 days from
Sean Sutton's resignation on April 1, and included an offer to
Bill Self last week, followed by Self's rejection and decision to stay at
Kansas on April 10. Holder interviewed Ford early this week, along with Southern
Illinois coach
Chris Lowery on Tuesday. Sources say no offer was extended to Lowery. Ford was in Stillwater on Tuesday night, then went back to
Amherst and spoke with his players and the UMass administration Wednesday.
Ford, who was involved with openings at LSU and Providence this spring, negotiated a new contract at UMass less than a week ago. But the new agreement was never signed, so the buyout of $200,000 in his original contract will apply, UMass athletic director
John McCutcheon confirmed to the
Daily Hampshire Gazette. Ford made approximately $400,000 per year at UMass, according to the
Boston Globe. Details of his new deal at OSU were not available Wednesday.
The
Madisonville, Ky., native is OSU's fourth consecutive coach with Kentucky ties. After playing his freshman season in 1989-90 at
Missouri (he didn't score in his one game in
Gallagher-Iba Arena) the point guard transferred to Kentucky, where he played three seasons under
Rick Pitino. Ford's first coaching job was at
Campbellsville, an NAIA school in Kentucky.
Ford's teams have played in an up-tempo "Pitino style” of basketball, which people say matches his energetic personality.
"He's a fiery guy,” said
Austin Newton, who walked onto Ford's team at Eastern Kentucky, eventually became a senior captain on the NCAA Tournament team and was on Ford's staff at UMass. "When you're in between the lines, he's so in to it. I'd run through a wall for the guy. He's a family man, too, got three little kids. But he's so intense when he steps between the lines. When it comes to basketball, he's intense.”
Said former Kentucky teammate and current
Arkansas coach
John Pelphrey: "Travis Ford is a great coach who is capable of being successful no matter where he is.”
Comments
They call it nepotism. In case you,obviously a Gooner fan, don't know the definition of nepotism, here's a short simple definition. You got your job ecause of who your dad is, not because of youir own skills.
Now read that real slow to your former classmates. Yout too Jeff!