Dana Ford
Biographical details | |
---|---|
Born | Tamms, Illinois, U.S. | June 9, 1984
Playing career | |
2002–2006 | Illinois State |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
2006–2007 | Winthrop (GA) |
2007–2008 | Wichita State (GA) |
2008–2009 | Chipola (assistant) |
2009–2011 | Tennessee State (assistant) |
2011–2012 | Wichita State (assistant) |
2012–2014 | Illinois State (assistant) |
2014–2018 | Tennessee State |
2018–2024 | Missouri State |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 163–146 (.528) |
Tournaments | 0–1 (NIT) 0–1 (CIT) |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Awards | |
OVC Coach of the Year (2016) Ben Jobe Award (2016) | |
Dana Ford (born June 9, 1984) is an American college basketball coach who was formerly the head coach for Missouri State University since March 21, 2018. He was relieved of his duties on March 10, 2024. Prior to coaching the Bears, he was the head coach at Tennessee State from 2014 through the 2018 season. Ford is a former basketball player, having played at Illinois State from 2002 to 2006.[1] After not being selected in the 2006 NBA draft, the Tamms, Illinois native joined the Tennessee State Tigers coaching staff under head coach John Cooper.[2] He has previously been with Wichita State and Illinois State through his coaching career, playing a key role in the teams' recruiting and overall success.[3]
Playing career
Ford attended Egyptian Senior High School in
In his first season with Illinois State, Ford hardly made a significant impact on the team's backcourt scoring. He finished the season averaging 2.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 0.6 assists.
Ford entered the 2006 NBA draft, which turned unsuccessful after he was not selected by a single team at the conclusion of the event.[8]
Coaching career
Ford began his career on the coaching staff at Winthrop, when he was named a graduate assistant. Under head coach Gregg Marshall, the team qualified for an NCAA Tournament berth. He continued holding the same position as he joined Wichita State with Marshall the next season. The Shockers continued to prevail and made another appearance in their postseason tournament.[7]
Ford's first year serving as an assistant coach was at Chipola College, where he led the Indians to an impressive 35–2 overall record and a third-place spot in the NJCAA National Tournament. The team also won its fifth consecutive FCCAA State Championship. His second team as an assistant coach was
After Tennessee State, Ford returned to Wichita State to serve as an assistant coach under Gregg Marshall. This was his third time coaching alongside Marshall, who made the remark, "This is how much I think of Dana Ford. At age 26, this is the third time I have invited Dana to join my staff…he was first my graduate assistant at Winthrop, followed me to Wichita State, and then after sending him out into the world to Chipola, and to Tennessee State, where he has helped coach Cooper recruit a fine young group of players, I am inviting him back." The Shockers finished the season and Ford was instrumental to their conference tournament victory and an NCAA Tournament appearance.[10]
Ford came back to Illinois State to become the team's assistant coach. He was also named the recruiting coordinator to add on to his original coaching duties.[11]
Following his two seasons with his alma mater, Ford returned to Tennessee State for his first experience as a head coach. The position was secured after Travis Williams left the team following a 5–25 season.[9]
After going 5–26 in his inaugural season as head coach, Ford orchestrated the largest NCAA turnaround from 2014–15 to 2015–16 with a 15-win difference. In 2015–16, Ford was named the OVC Coach of the Year, led his team to 20 wins, and a berth in the CIT postseason tournament.[12] He was also named the 2016 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) District 19 Coach of the Year, CollegeInsiders.com's Ben Jobe Award Winner, and the BOXTOROW Coach of the Year.[13][14]
Head coaching record
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tennessee State Tigers (Ohio Valley Conference ) (2014–2018)
| |||||||||
2014–15 | Tennessee State | 5–26 | 2–14 | 6th (East) | |||||
2015–16 | Tennessee State | 20–11 | 11–5 | T–2nd (East) | CIT First Round | ||||
2016–17 | Tennessee State | 17–13 | 8–8 | T–4th (East) | |||||
2017–18 | Tennessee State | 15–15 | 10–8 | T–5th | |||||
Tennessee State: | 57–65 (.467) | 31–35 (.470) | |||||||
Missouri State Bears (Missouri Valley Conference) (2018–2024) | |||||||||
2018–19 | Missouri State | 16–16 | 10–8 | T–3rd | |||||
2019–20 | Missouri State | 16–17 | 9–9 | T–6th | |||||
2020–21 | Missouri State | 17–7 | 12–6 | 3rd | |||||
2021–22 | Missouri State | 23–11 | 13–5 | T–2nd | NIT First Round | ||||
2022–23 | Missouri State | 17–15 | 12–8 | 6th | |||||
2023–24 | Missouri State | 17–16 | 8–12 | 9th | |||||
Missouri State: | 106–82 (.564) | 64–48 (.571) | |||||||
Total: | 163–146 (.528) | ||||||||
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
|
Personal life
Ford is a Christian.[15] Ford is married to Christina Ford. They have three daughters, Charlie Rose, Cline and Courtney as well as three sons, Cameron, Carson, and Crain. Their daughter, Promise, died in infancy.[16]
Ford is a supporter of his wife's charity, The Rebound Foundation, a non-profit that works to provide transitional housing to women and children who've experienced domestic abuse and educate on healthy relationships.[15]
References
- ^ "Dana Ford Player Profile". RealGM.com. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
- ^ Organ, Mike. "New TSU coach Dana Ford brings strong recruiting skills". The Tennessean. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
- ^ "Dana Ford Bio – Illinois State". GoRedbirds.com. Illinois State University. Archived from the original on November 19, 2012. Retrieved June 7, 2014.
- ^ "Dana Ford Bio". GoRedbirds.com. Illinois State University. Archived from the original on November 19, 2012. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
- ^ "Dana Ford – Yahoo! Sports". Rivals.com. Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
- ^ "Dana Ford Player Profile". RealGM.com. RealGM, L.L.C. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
- ^ a b "Dana Ford Bio". TSUTigers.com. Tennessee State University. Archived from the original on May 30, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
- ^ "DraftExpress NBA Draft Prospect – Dana Ford". DraftExpress.com. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
- ^ a b "Dana Ford to Take Over TSU Men's Basketball Team". TSUTigers.com. Tennessee State Sports Information. Archived from the original on May 30, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
- ^ "Dana Ford Assistant Coach Wichita State". ShockerHoops.net. Archived from the original on June 27, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
- ^ Suellentrop, Paul. "Dana Ford leaves Wichita State basketball for Illinois State". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
- ^ TN, Streamline Technologies | Nashville. "Ford Named OVC Coach of the Year; McCall, DeShields Honored". TSUTigers.com. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
- ^ "Onnidan's HBCUSports – SCSU's Garvin and TSU's Ford named NABC District Coaches of the Year". onnidan.com. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
- ^ "BOXTOROW 2016 College Basketball All-America Team | BOXTOROW Blog". www.boxtorow.com. Retrieved April 6, 2016.
- ^ a b Kruse, Ethan. "Dana and Christina Ford - Ending the Cycle". His Huddle. Retrieved February 8, 2022.
- ^ "DANA FORD". Retrieved February 8, 2022.