Atlantic Sun Basketball: Top 10 head coaches of the century (2000-20)

1. Rick Byrd – Belmont (2001-2012)

Byrd truly was a legend throughout his more than three decades leading this Belmont program into prominence. He took the Bruins from NAIA into D1, with the Atlantic Sun their first conference home. Byrd was at the helm for all eleven years the Bruins spent in the conference and suffice to say they were some pretty incredible years.

The program struggled for consistency as it joined D1 but quickly became a power in the Atlantic Sun. During a seven-year stretch, Byrd and Belmont made five NCAA Tournaments, winning five regular-season titles in the process as well. In that seven-year stretch, Belmont was a phenomenal 164-68 and was dominating the Atlantic Sun.

This dominance led the Bruins into the OVC where they made three more NCAA Tournaments before Byrd’s retirement in 2019. He’s responsible for such amazing growth, building this Belmont program out of nothing. They were once an unknown NAIA team and now they are consistently a great mid-major program.

We’ve completed our look at the ten best Atlantic Sun Basketball coaches since the turn of the century. Some true legends in recent history have passed through the league, and it’ll be interesting to see how the Atlantic Sun progresses into the future.