You never know quite what will happen in a season of college basketball and we’re all excited for the next one to begin. Today continues our series working through our head coach rankings, the ninth edition of our piece ranking every single D1 head coach. It comes with a twist this year, as we’re breaking them down by conference instead of together in one article.
The MAC has sure produced some memorable moments recently and last year’s run by Miami-Ohio was clear evidence of that. Beyond that, the MAC had a boatload of coaching changes in the offseason with four new names and plenty of experience among those who are still sticking around. Who stands out in this league?
361. Dustin Ford (Akron) (Last year: N/A)
Overall record: 0-0
A former Ohio point guard, Ford worked early in his career at the high school level but now gets his first shot leading his own college program. After success with Western Carolina, he spent nearly two decades as John Groce’s assistant at Ohio, Illinois, and Akron and now takes over the Zips as Groce moves on. We’ll see what kind of leader Ford will be, though he does have extensive experience coaching in the MAC.
359. Chris Capko (Ball State) (Last year: N/A)
Overall record: 0-0
A former guard at Florida and South Florida, Capko has pretty extensive coaching experience over the last two decades but this’ll be his first head coaching experience. He’s worked at six D1 schools, notably spending a decade with Andy Enfield in multiple roles on the USC staff. After two years as SMU’s associate head coach, Capko inherits his own program and will try to bring the Cardinals back into MAC contention.
316. Andy Bronkema (Central Michigan) (Last year: 318)
Overall record: 10-21
Bronkema is a Michigan native who has spent his entire career in his home state. He played collegiately at Cornerstone and got his first coaching experience with Ferris State. The Bulldogs promoted him to the top job in 2013 and he won a D2 national title just five years later, with solid success across his tenure. Bronkema took the jump to D1 and Central Michigan last offseason and finished 10th in the MAC in his first season, though it’s too early to judge his work with the Chippewas.
300. George Halcovage (Buffalo) (Last year: 335)
Overall record: 30-64
Much of the coaching work for Halcovage came at Villanova under the leadership of Jay Wright. He worked his way up the Wildcats’ staff, starting as a graduate assistant in 2008 before winning a pair of national titles on that bench. Halcovage had become associate head coach by the time he took the Buffalo job in 2023, though his work on his own came with a slow start. The Bulls won just 13 games combined in his first two seasons before last year’s 17-15 record was a definite step forward.
235. Kahil Fennell (Western Michigan) (Last year: 268)
Overall record: 35-29
A new face in the MAC, Fennell comes with a unique blend of coaching experience. He worked at the high school and D2 levels and more recently spent several years on staff at both Louisville and BYU. His first head coaching job was at UTRGV, where he did decent work in the Southland, including 19 wins and a 3rd place finish last year. We’ll see how he handles a Western Michigan program desperately hoping to contend in the MAC.
169. Todd Simon (Bowling Green) (Last year: 182)
Overall record: 179-160
Despite his Midwest roots, Simon spent a bulk of his coaching career on the west coast, beginning on the staffs of Pepperdine and UNLV in the mid-2000’s. He was a successful high school and later the interim head coach at UNLV before Southern Utah gave him his first full-time college gig. His seven years with the Thunderbirds involved 118 wins and a WAC title before jumping to Bowling Green in 2023. Since joining the Falcons, he’s engineered a pair of 5th place finishes in the MAC, including a CIT run back in his debut season.
167. Billy Donlon (Eastern Michigan) (Last year: N/A)
Overall record: 155-133
After early work on staff for Brad Brownell, Donlon did great work in his first head coaching stint at Wright State, though he couldn’t quite get the Raiders into the Big Dance. After a few years on Big Ten benches, Donlon got his second shot at Kansas City and even had a 19-win season back in 2022. Since then, he spent a few years back with Brownell at Clemson but now takes over at Eastern Michigan. We’ll see how his third head coaching stint develops as he hunts for his first trip to the NCAA Tournament.
129. Jeff Boals (Ohio) (Last year: 119)
Overall record: 184-135
A player at Ohio back in the early 90’s, Boals has worked for a number of coaching staffs over the years, notably at his alma mater, at Akron, and during a solid era for Ohio State. His head coaching start came in a 3-year run at Stony Brook before the Bobcats brought him back as head coach in 2019. Boals was immediately successful, taking Ohio to a first-round Tourney upset win over Virginia in his second season, though he’s coming off his first season below .500 since rejoining the Bobcats.
122. Tod Kowalczyk (Toledo) (Last year: 130)
Overall record: 451-323
While he’s another head coach still hunting for the NCAA Tournament, Kowalczyk has had quite the run as a collegiate head coach. After work on several staffs, notably aiding Tom Crean at Marquette, Kowalczyk spent 8 years with Green Bay, winning 22 games in each of his last two years. He then accepted the Toledo job in 2010 and has won 5 regular season titles in the MAC, though he’s yet to lead the Rockets over the hump and into the Big Dance despite sustained success and plenty of regular season wins.
99. Travis Steele (Miami-Ohio) (Last year: 140)
Overall record: 154-98
This past season saw Steele really bounce back onto the national scene. A former Thad Matta aide, he was on staff at Indiana and Xavier, working his way from operations director to head coach of the Musketeers. Steele spent four years helming Xavier and never reached the NCAA Tournament, peaking with a few 19-win campaigns. Shortly after he was fired, he landed at Miami-Ohio and is fresh off a breakthrough, taking the RedHawks to an unbeaten regular season and a Tourney win in the First Four, finishing the year 32-2.
92. Rob Senderoff (Kent State) (Last year: 95)
Overall record: 312-186
After coaching stints at several other schools, including under Kelvin Sampson, James Jones, and others, Senderoff has really given stability to Kent State basketball. He was previously an assistant for several years with the Golden Flashes before being promoted back in 2011. His first 15 years have included two NCAA Tournaments and a slew of other postseason bids. Most recently, Senderoff has twin 24-win campaigns over the last two seasons.
64. Frank Martin (UMass) (Last year: 56)
Overall record: 352-264
Formerly a successful high school down in Miami, Martin spent time coaching under Bob Huggins and succeeded him at Kansas State way back in 2007. He took the Wildcats to great success, including an Elite Eight run, before heading to South Carolina in 2012. His decade in Columbia was largely uninspiring but we cannot forget that Final Four run in 2017. Since landing at UMass, his four years with the Minutemen have produced mixed results, though it’s hard to ignore the total body of work, fresh off a 7th place finish in his program’s first season as members of the MAC.
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