Geno Ford

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Geno Ford
Ford in 2019
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamStony Brook
ConferenceCAA
Record78–78 (.500)
Annual salary$370,000[1]
Biographical details
Born (1974-10-11) October 11, 1974 (age 49)
Cambridge, Ohio, U.S.
Playing career
1993–1997Ohio
1997–1998Leicester Riders
Position(s)Guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1998–2001Ohio (GA/assistant)
2001–2002Shawnee State
2002–2005Kent State (assistant)
2005–2007Muskingum
2007–2008Kent State (assistant)
2008–2011Kent State
2011–2015Bradley
2016–2019Stony Brook (assistant)
2019–presentStony Brook
Head coaching record
Overall240–232 (.508)
Tournaments3–2 (NIT)
0–1 (CBI)
2–2 (CIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2× MAC regular season (2010, 2011)
Awards
2× MAC Coach of the Year (2010, 2011)
Ohio Mr. Basketball (1993)

Gene A. "Geno" Ford[2] (born October 11, 1974) is an American college basketball coach and former college and professional basketball player. He is currently the men's head coach for the Stony Brook Seawolves, a position he has held since 2019. He was previously the head coach at Shawnee State University, Muskingum University (then Muskingum College), Kent State University (2008–2011) and Bradley University (2011–2015).

Ford was an assistant coach at Ohio University, Kent State and Stony Brook. He was promoted to head coach at Stony Brook after serving on Jeff Boals' staff for three seasons. Before turning to coaching, Ford was a prolific scorer in high school and in college at Ohio University. He graduated with the second-most points scored in Ohio high school basketball and the fourth-most points for the Ohio Bobcats.

Playing career[edit]

High school[edit]

Ford was a high school standout at Cambridge High School in Cambridge, Ohio, playing for his father, Gene Ford. In 1993, after his senior season, he was named Ohio Mr. Basketball by the Associated Press.[3] Ford scored 2,680 points in high school, second-most in history at the time of his graduation[4] and currently the fourth-most behind Jon Diebler (3,208 points), Luke Kennard (2,977 points) and Jay Burson (2,958), but higher than LeBron James (2,646).[5] Ford still holds the record for most free throws made in a season (288) and most career free throws (697) in Ohio high school boys' basketball.[4] He was named to the All-Ohio Division II first team following both his junior and senior seasons and was also a two-time All-Eastern District Division II Player of the Year and two-time All-OVAC Class 4-A first team pick.[4] In 2004, Ford was named to the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Hall of Fame.[6]

College[edit]

Ford played at Ohio University as a guard from 1993 to 1997, wearing No. 12.[7] In four seasons with the Bobcats, Ford averaged 14.2 points per game on 41.4 percent shooting.[8] He led the Bobcats in scoring in both his junior and senior seasons, averaging 18.9 points per game in 1995–96 and 18.7 in 1996–97.[9] Ford was named to the All-MAC Second Team in 1996 and the All-MAC First Team in 1997.[9]

Ford scored 1,752 points in college, graduating as the fourth-highest scorer of all time in Ohio Bobcats program history.[9] He currently stands at sixth.[9] Ford started 113 games, breaking the program record at the time (currently fifth), while he also still ranks in the top 10 for three-pointers made and free throws made.[9] Ford currently holds the program record for most free throws made in a single game (19) on February 2, 1997, breaking the old record (17) which had stood for 42 years.[9]

Coaching career[edit]

Ford began his coaching career in 1998 as a graduate assistant at his alma mater Ohio University, and then promoted to a full-time assistant coaching position the next season, before becoming head coach at Shawnee State University of the NAIA in 2001. After one season at Shawnee State, he was hired as an assistant at Kent State under Jim Christian, where he coached for three seasons. In 2005, Ford was hired as head coach at Muskingum College, now Muskingum University, of the NCAA Division III, where he coached for two seasons before returning to Kent State as an assistant.

Kent State[edit]

Ford was promoted to head coach at Kent State in 2008 following Christian's departure to TCU, and coached the Golden Flashes for three seasons.[10] At Kent State, Ford led the team to consecutive Mid-American Conference regular season titles in 2010 and 2011, winning MAC Coach of the Year both years.[11][12] His teams at Kent State advanced to the postseason in each of his three seasons, playing in the 2009 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament and the 2010 and 2011 National Invitation Tournaments. He finished with a record of 68–37 at Kent State, including 35–17 in MAC play.

After the 2009–10 season, Kent State reached a five-year extension with Ford that increased his salary to $300,000 per year, making him the highest-paid basketball coach in the MAC.[13]

Bradley[edit]

Ford left Kent State one year into the extension to become the head coach at Bradley University, where his salary increased to $700,000.

Ford's teams at Bradley never finished above 7th in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), advancing to post-season play in the 2013 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. He was relieved of his duties at the conclusion of an injury-riddled 2014–15 season, where the Braves finished 9–24 overall and 3–15 in the MVC. Ford's record at Bradley was 46–86 overall and 19–53 in MVC play.[14]

Contract breach lawsuit[edit]

Kent State sued Ford for breach of contract in 2011, claiming that Ford owed Kent State the sum of his salary over the four remaining years, worth $1.2 million, as a buyout agreed to in his contract.[13] Kent State rejected Bradley's offer of a single $400,000 payment and won the lawsuit in 2013, forcing Ford to pay his former employer $1.2 million.[15][16] In 2015, Kent State filed a new lawsuit against Ford and Bradley for tortious interference of contract, indemnification, third-party beneficiary contract, fraudulent transfer and civil conspiracy.[15]

Stony Brook[edit]

Following a year off as a college basketball analyst for ESPN3, Ford was hired in 2016 as an assistant for Stony Brook under head coach and his former Ohio teammate Jeff Boals.[17] On March 17, 2019, Ford was named the interim head coach of Stony Brook after Boals resigned to accept the head coaching job at Ohio University.[18] Ford's interim tag was removed on March 26, when Stony Brook announced his promotion as the fourth head coach in the school's Division I era.[19] Ford's contract is for five years, running through the 2023–24 season, with the ability to negotiate an extension after the 2021–22 season.[20]

In Ford's first season, Stony Brook won 20 games for the eighth time in the last 11 seasons and finished in second place in the America East, their ninth top-2 finish over that time period.[21] After defeating Albany in the America East quarterfinals, Stony Brook was upset 64–56 at home by Hartford in the semifinals to end their season at 20–13.[22] Ford's second season at head coach saw Stony Brook finish 9–14, the program's worst record in 13 years.[23]

Ford won his 200th game as a head coach on December 14, 2021 against Central Connecticut.[24] In Ford's fourth season, Stony Brook moved from the America East to the Colonial Athletic Association, but the Seawolves suffered multiple season-ending injuries and finished 11–22 to tie for ninth.[25] On February 7, 2024, Ford was extended for two more years through the 2025–26 season.[26] In March 2024, as the seventh seed in the CAA tournament, Stony Brook advanced to face top-seed Charleston in the championship game by upsetting two-seed Drexel, 91–88 (2OT) in the quarterfinals[27] and three-seed Hofstra, 63–58 in the semifinals.[28] Stony Brook led Charleston 40–35 at the half and held Charleston scoreless in the final five minutes of regulation, scoring nine straight points to tie the game at 73 and go into overtime, where the Seawolves ultimately lost 82–79.[29] Stony Brook was the first seven seed to advance to the CAA Finals since East Carolina in 1993.[30]

Head coaching record[edit]

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Shawnee State (American Mideast Conference) (2001–02)
2001–02 Shawnee State 22–10 13–5 3rd
Shawnee State: 22–10 (.688) 13–5 (.722)
Muskingum (Ohio Athletic Conference) (2005–07)
2005–06 Muskingum 17–9 12–6 3rd
2006–07 Muskingum 12–13 6–12 8th
Muskingum: 29–22 (.569) 18–18 (.500)
Kent State (Mid-American Conference) (2008–2011)
2008–09 Kent State 19–15 10–6 T–3rd (East) CIT First Round
2009–10 Kent State 24–10 13–3 1st (East) NIT Second Round
2010–11 Kent State 25–12 12–4 1st (East) NIT Quarterfinals
Kent State: 68–37 (.648) 35–13 (.729)
Bradley (Missouri Valley Conference) (2011–2015)
2011–12 Bradley 7–25 2–16 10th
2012–13 Bradley 18–17 7–11 T–7th CIT Quarterfinals
2013–14 Bradley 12–20 7–11 7th
2014–15 Bradley 9–24 3–15 10th
Bradley: 46–86 (.348) 19–53 (.264)
Stony Brook (America East) (2019–present)
2018–19 Stony Brook 0–1* CBI First Round*
2019–20 Stony Brook 20–13 10–6 2nd
2020–21 Stony Brook 9–14 7–9 7th
2021–22 Stony Brook 18–13 10–8 3rd
Stony Brook (CAA) (2022–present)
2022–23 Stony Brook 11–22 6–12 T–9th
2023–24 Stony Brook 20–15 10–8 T–6th
Stony Brook: 78–78 (.500) 43–43 (.500)
Total: 240–232 (.508)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

*Ford was named interim head coach on March 17, 2019, after Boals took the head coaching job at Ohio. In addition, Ford holds a 5–5 postseason record as a Division I head coach (3–2 NIT, 0–1 CBI, 2–2 CIT).

Personal life[edit]

Ford is married to his wife, Traci. He has two sons: Darin and David. His son, David, served as director of player development under Ford at Stony Brook during the 2021-22 season.[31] Ford's brother, Dustin, is the associate head coach at Akron and also played for Ohio from 1998 to 2001.[32]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Introducing the Mid-Major Madness Coaching Contract Database". 4 November 2019.
  2. ^ Greenberg, Martin. "COACHING FREE AGENCY HAS A PRICE: LIQUIDATED DAMAGES UPHELD IN THE GENO FORD / KENT STATE CASE" (PDF).
  3. ^ "Blue Lions post 22–3 record in 1993". highlandcountypress.com. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
  4. ^ a b c "Ohio Valley Athletic Conference :: Hall of Fame :: Geno Ford". www.ovac.org. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
  5. ^ State Records : Boys Basketball
  6. ^ "Geno Ford – Men's Basketball Coach". Bradley University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
  7. ^ Head Coach Geno Ford – KentStateSports.com—Official Web Site of Kent State University Athletics[permanent dead link]
  8. ^ "Geno Ford College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2020-01-20.
  9. ^ a b c d e f "Ohio MBB Record Book" (PDF).
  10. ^ Alexander, Elton (2008-04-02). "Kent State names Geno Ford men's basketball coach". www.cleveland.com. The Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
  11. ^ "MAC Announces Player of the Year, Coach of the Year". MAC-Sports.com. Mid-American Conference. March 8, 2010. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved March 4, 2011.
  12. ^ "MAC Announces Men's Basketball Player of the Year, Coach of the Year". MAC-Sports.com. Mid-American Conference. March 7, 2011. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved March 7, 2011.
  13. ^ a b "Kent State sues ex-basketball coach Geno Ford". The Columbus Dispatch. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  14. ^ Wire, S. I. "Bradley has fired head basketball coach Geno Ford after four seasons". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  15. ^ a b Nied, Kyleigh Jarosinski, Meghan Costantino, Christina Godfrey and Mike. "Kent State continues legal battles with Geno Ford, Bradley University". KentWired.com. Archived from the original on 2021-10-28. Retrieved 2021-10-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ "Kent State wins $1.2 million lawsuit against former coach Geno Ford". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  17. ^ "Geno Ford joins Stony Brook coaching staff". The Daily Jeffersonian. June 6, 2016. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  18. ^ Parkinson, Chris (17 March 2019). "Jeff Boals resigns as Men's Basketball head coach, joins Ohio University". The Statesman. Retrieved 2019-03-20.
  19. ^ "Source: SBU promoting Geno Ford to head coach". Newsday. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
  20. ^ "Stony Brook Coach Geno Ford Signs Five-Year Contract: Salary, Buyout, Incentives". Stadium. 2019-10-08. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
  21. ^ Tam, Ethan (2020-03-05). "Despite loss at UMBC, Stony Brook clinches No. 2 seed in conference playoffs". The Statesman. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  22. ^ Tam, Ethan (2020-03-12). "Stony Brook eliminated after giving up late semifinal lead to Hartford". The Statesman. Retrieved 2020-03-30.
  23. ^ Tam, Ethan. "Stony Brook's season ends in first round after blowing 16-point lead to UMass Lowell". The Statesman. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  24. ^ "Stony Brook dominates Central Connecticut for Ford's 200th win". Newsday. Retrieved 2021-12-16.
  25. ^ Spurrell, Kenny. "Stony Brook men's basketball's CAA introduction spoiled by injuries". The Statesman. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  26. ^ Sportsdesk, B. V. M. (2024-02-07). "Stony Brook Basketball Coach Geno Ford Signs Contract Extension for Shared NCAA Tournament Goal". BVM Sports. Retrieved 2024-03-11.
  27. ^ Wagner, Jon (2024-03-11). "CAA quarterfinals: Stony Brook upsets Drexel; Hofstra clamps down Delaware". Mid-Major Madness. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  28. ^ Wagner, Jon (2024-03-12). "Late runs by Charleston and Stony Brook yield a David & Goliath CAA Final". Mid-Major Madness. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  29. ^ Wagner, Jon (2024-03-13). "Charleston fends off feisty Stony Brook to repeat as CAA champs". Mid-Major Madness. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  30. ^ "Top-seeded Charleston beats Stony Brook 82-79 in OT for back-to-back CAA Tournament championships". CBSSports.com. 2024-03-13. Retrieved 2024-03-14.
  31. ^ "David Ford bio". Stony Brook University Athletics. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
  32. ^ "Suits and Sneakers Brings New Meaning to Geno Ford, Family ahead of Wednesday Clash". Stony Brook University Athletics. Retrieved 2022-01-30.
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