Who are the most accomplished head coaches in MAC Basketball so far this century?
While it’s far better known for its FBS football, the MAC remains an intriguing mid-major conference, filled with schools mostly near the Great Lakes. Some of these programs have richer histories than others, but there’s been plenty of intrigue over the years. Every so often, a MAC Basketball team makes an impressive run, typically by becoming an NCAA Tournament Cinderella team.
Over time, the twelve teams in the MAC have had some pretty great coaches come through the conference. Even if many of them leave for greener pastures soon after MAC success, there’s still a lot of intrigue among these rising stars of the coaching world. They aren’t bringing a boatload of top 100 prospects to a MAC school, but they still have put their players in a position for success. They may not be big names, but there’s plenty of talent among the coaches and players in this league.
We’ll be taking a look at some of those coaches, doing our best to focus on ranking the ten best in the MAC since 2000. There’s no perfect process to order these coaches, though we’ll focus on a number of different factors. A coach who turns around a historically struggling program is just as valuable as someone who grabs a few Tournament bids at a well-known power. The twelve teams in the MAC have produced some incredible talent over the last two decades, meaning there are some good coaches who haven’t even made the list.
Without further ado, let’s move right into the rankings, focusing closely on the accomplishments of the top MAC head coaches.