America East Basketball: Top 10 head coaches of the century (2000-20)

Who are the most accomplished head coaches in America East Basketball this century?

America East Basketball isn’t one of the premier conferences in the country, but it did recently provide one of the classic moments the sport has ever seen. The upset win that 16-seed UMBC delivered over top-seeded Virginia is a moment that will be remembered for the rest of the sport’s history. Aside from that shocker, these programs aren’t known in your average households, even if Vermont has done plenty to assert themselves as a mid-major power in recent years.

The success these programs have achieved is the direct result of some great head coaches. The coaches in this league truly face a tough task, recruiting and coaching up talent into a league like the America East, especially when most of these programs lack considerable positive basketball history. We’ve seen some of these coaches use this success for better jobs and we’ve seen legends who’ve stuck around and made amazing strides with their teams.

We’re going to take a deep dive into the ten greatest head coaches of the America East since 2000. Many of these programs are still in relative infancy of success and selecting ten worthy coaches was somewhat of a challenge. Fortunately, when considering their impacts on these programs, especially in regards to winning and postseason success, a number of names really stand out.

Let’s get right into the ranking, focusing on what these coaches have accomplished during their time in the America East since the turn of the century.