NCAA Basketball: State of Div. III basketball’s coaching landscape in 2020-21

While the COVID-19 pandemic has not yet impacted the coaching ranks of Div. I NCAA Basketball, it has created a notable stir in Div. III hoops.

If – and when – NCAA Basketball returns, there will be a changing of the guard among the coaching ranks.

That much is not true in Division I men’s basketball, where the typical blue blood programs and coaches still lead the way. Mike Krzyzewski is still bringing in one-and-dones at Duke, John Calipari is on his “lifetime” contract with Kentucky, and Bill Self continues to battle NCAA accusations and investigations at Kansas. The same cannot be said, however, for Division III.

It is easy and expected for most to toss Division II and III aside. Neither are headlined by the well-known blue bloods, nor do either receive much attention from mainstream sports outlets, whether it be in written form or on television. Legends have been made at the Division III level, however – former Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan won four national championships in the 90s with Wisconsin-Platteville, and San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich made his head coaching debut at Pomona-Pitzer, leading them to their first conference championship in 68 years back in 1986.

So, why bring up Division III at all when arguably two of its most famous alumni moved on decades ago? Here is why: since November of 2019, 10 coaches – all of whom have spent 20 or more years at their respective institutions – have retired. These are coaches who have built and cemented their legacies solely at the Div. III level, amassing a whopping 5,538 career victories and numerous national championships between them. Among them: the all-time winningest coach in Div. III history.

Glenn Robinson of Franklin & Marshall College retired just days before the start of the 2019-20 season in November, having recorded 967 victories in 48 years at the helm of the Diplomats. His mark places him sixth in all-time wins across all divisions, tallying three more than Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim.

While Robinson never won the national title at Franklin & Marshall, his squads were frequent contenders, reaching the NCAA Tournament 23 times during his tenure. His closest opportunity came in 1991, where he led a 28-3 squad to the National Championship game but was shut down by none other than Bo Ryan’s Wisconsin-Platteville team.

Robinson’s retirement unintentionally served as the catalyst for change in Div. III, which was only furthered by the COVID-19 pandemic and the cancellation of collegiate athletics – the latter of which occurred as both Div. III men’s and women’s basketball were halfway through their NCAA Tournaments.

On March 2, when the tournament brackets were released, Robinson was the only one of the 10 to have retired. By the time the tournament was called off 11 days later, four more retirees were added to the list. Kerry Prather of Franklin, Dick Meader of University of Maine at Farmington, and Pat Cunningham of Trinity (Texas) all walked away from the game within a five-day span, with Wooster’s Steve Moore highlighting the group.

Where Robinson ranks first among all-time wins in Div. III history, Moore trails right behind. Having first served a six-year stint at Muhlenberg, Moore spent 33 seasons with the Fighting Scots, tallying 867 total career victories with 780 of those coming at Wooster. Just like Robinson, Moore was unable to win a national championship, reaching the title game in 2011.

Likewise, however, Moore experienced success in the tournament, directing the Scots to a berth 28 times and reaching the Final Four twice in the 2000s. Ranking sixteenth in career wins among coaches across all divisions, Moore sits just behind Adolph Rupp.

Halfway through July, the number ballooned to 10. Mary Hardin-Baylor’s Ken DeWeese retired in late March with exactly 400 career victories, while Ithaca’s Jim Mullins followed shortly after in April. Amherst’s David Hixon, a two-time national champion who took a sabbatical during the 2019-20 season due to health reasons, officially announced his retirement just days after Mullins.

Grey Giovanine of Augustana reached the Div. III Tournament 10 times with two appearances in the title tilt before walking away in May. A lull followed shortly thereafter before Carthage’s Bosko Djurickovic made it 10 retirees in mid-July, handing over the reins to his son and assistant, Steve. The elder Djurickovic, like Hixon, also claimed two national titles – neither coming at Carthage, but instead at North Park in the 80s.

It is easy to point at win-loss records and note the impact that these coaches had on Div. III college basketball, but their influence spreads further than that. Meader, for example, founded and helped run the Pine Tree Basketball Camp with former longtime Colby College head coach Dick Whitmore for 38 years.

A summer developmental basketball camp, the Pine Tree Basketball Camp, according to Maine-Farmington’s press release, “became a rite of passage for many successful high school, college, and NBA coaches,” which included a trio of current NBA head coaches in Steve Clifford, Brett Brown, and Mike Malone.

One of the first incarnations of the camp featured guest lecturers Jim Boeheim, then-Army head coach Mike Krzyzewski, Dick Vitale, and Jim Valvano. Meader also served as an instructor in UMF’s coaching minor programs, teaching future teachers for more than 20 years.

While this decidedly marks the end of an era in Div. III hoops, it also begins an exciting new era. It is nearly impossible to tell what the college landscape will look like, by way of the athletes on the floor. If the 2020-21 season is canceled, it is difficult to imagine most seniors taking the following year off and returning, despite the NCAA’s allowance of a waiver.

Contrarily, if the 2020-21 season is still on, it does not seem out of the realm of possibility that students may sit out due to health reasons, among other concerns. What will remain constant, at least as college basketball resumes, is who will lead these squads from the sideline.

Wooster and Carthage, for example, are two of the programs that have seemingly made obvious and great hires from within. Wooster promoted Doug Cline, an assistant for Moore for 24 years, and a 1,000-point scorer for the Fighting Scots. Carthage’s Steve Djurickovic takes over for his father after serving on the bench for the previous six seasons, which was preceded by a stellar playing career at Carthage.

Djurickovic currently stands as the program’s all-time leader in scoring with 2,547 points, and presently holds the NCAA Div. III record for free throws made (839) and free throws attempted (997).

So why does any of this matter? Again, it is stereotypical for people to ignore, and oftentimes ridicule, Div. III athletics. But if these ten coaches have proven anything in their 20-plus year service to college basketball, it is that legacies can be made and cemented at any level.

They have also shown that, just as Div. I is dominated by blue bloods, there are those types of “titans” at the Div. III level, and should be respected as so. And, as we approach a new season, we are reminded of the potential new and exciting era that is to come in Division III men’s basketball.