 Ford in 2024 | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Stony Brook |
| Conference | CAA |
| Record | 86–102 (.457) |
| Annual salary | $370,000[1] |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | (1974-10-11)October 11, 1974 (age 50) Cambridge, Ohio, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1993–1997 | Ohio |
| 1997–1998 | Leicester Riders |
| Position(s) | Guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1998–2001 | Ohio (GA/assistant) |
| 2001–2002 | Shawnee State |
| 2002–2005 | Kent State (assistant) |
| 2005–2007 | Muskingum |
| 2007–2008 | Kent State (assistant) |
| 2008–2011 | Kent State |
| 2011–2015 | Bradley |
| 2016–2019 | Stony Brook (assistant) |
| 2019–present | Stony Brook |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 248–256 (.492) |
| Tournaments | 3–2 (NIT) 0–1 (CBI) 2–2 (CIT) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 2×MAC regular season (2010, 2011) | |
| Awards | |
| 2× MAC Coach of the Year (2010, 2011) Ohio Mr. Basketball (1993) | |
Gene A. "Geno" Ford[2] (born October 11, 1974) is an Americancollege basketball coach and former college and professional basketball player. He is currently the men's head coach for theStony Brook Seawolves, a position he has held since 2019. He was previously the head coach atShawnee State University,Muskingum University (then Muskingum College),Kent State University (2008–2011) andBradley University (2011–2015).
Ford was an assistant coach atOhio University, Kent State and Stony Brook. He was promoted to head coach at Stony Brook after serving onJeff Boals' staff for three seasons. Before turning to coaching, Ford was a prolific scorer in high school and in college atOhio University. He graduated with the second-most points scored in Ohio high school basketball and the fourth-most points for theOhio Bobcats.
Ford was a high school standout atCambridge High School inCambridge, Ohio, playing for his father, Gene Ford. In 1993, after his senior season, he was namedOhio Mr. Basketball by theAssociated Press.[3] Ford scored 2,680 points in high school, second-most in history at the time of his graduation[4] and currently the fourth-most behindJon Diebler (3,208 points),Luke Kennard (2,977 points) andJay Burson (2,958), but higher thanLeBron James (2,646).[5] Ford still holds the record for most free throws made in a season (288) and most career free throws (697) in Ohio high school boys' basketball.[4] He was named to the All-Ohio Division II first team following both his junior and senior seasons and was also a two-time All-Eastern District Division II Player of the Year and two-time All-OVAC Class 4-A first team pick.[4] In 2004, Ford was named to theOhio Valley Athletic Conference Hall of Fame.[6]
Ford played atOhio University as aguard from 1993 to 1997, wearing No. 12.[7] In four seasons with the Bobcats, Ford averaged 14.2 points per game on 41.4 percent shooting.[8] He led the Bobcats in scoring in both his junior and senior seasons, averaging 18.9 points per game in1995–96 and 18.7 in1996–97.[9] Ford was named to the All-MAC Second Team in 1996 and the All-MAC First Team in 1997.[9]
Ford scored 1,752 points in college, graduating as the fourth-highest scorer of all time in Ohio Bobcats program history.[9] He currently stands at sixth.[9] Ford started 113 games, breaking the program record at the time (currently fifth), while he also still ranks in the top 10 for three-pointers made and free throws made.[9] Ford currently holds the program record for most free throws made in a single game (19) on February 2, 1997, breaking the old record (17) which had stood for 42 years.[9]
Ford began his coaching career in 1998 as agraduate assistant at his alma mater Ohio University, and then promoted to a full-time assistant coaching position the next season, before becoming head coach at Shawnee State University of theNAIA in 2001. After one season at Shawnee State, he was hired as an assistant at Kent State underJim Christian, where he coached for three seasons. In 2005, Ford was hired as head coach at Muskingum College, nowMuskingum University, of theNCAA Division III, where he coached for two seasons before returning to Kent State as an assistant.
Ford was promoted to head coach at Kent State in 2008 following Christian's departure toTCU, and coached the Golden Flashes for three seasons.[10] At Kent State, Ford led the team to consecutiveMid-American Conference regular season titles in 2010 and 2011, winningMAC Coach of the Year both years.[11][12] His teams at Kent State advanced to the postseason in each of his three seasons, playing in the2009 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament and the2010 and2011 National Invitation Tournaments. He finished with a record of 68–37 at Kent State, including 35–17 in MAC play.
After the 2009–10 season, Kent State reached a five-year extension with Ford that increased his salary to $300,000 per year, making him the highest-paid basketball coach in the MAC.[13]
Ford left Kent State one year into the extension to become the head coach atBradley University, where his salary increased to $700,000.
Ford's teams at Bradley never finished above 7th in theMissouri Valley Conference (MVC), advancing to post-season play in the2013 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. He was relieved of his duties at the conclusion of an injury-riddled2014–15 season, where the Braves finished 9–24 overall and 3–15 in the MVC. Ford's record at Bradley was 46–86 overall and 19–53 in MVC play.[14]
Kent State sued Ford for breach of contract in 2011, claiming that Ford owed Kent State the sum of his salary over the four remaining years, worth $1.2 million, as a buyout agreed to in his contract.[13] Kent State rejected Bradley's offer of a single $400,000 payment and won the lawsuit in 2013, forcing Ford to pay his former employer $1.2 million.[15][16] In 2015, Kent State filed a new lawsuit against Ford and Bradley for tortious interference of contract, indemnification, third-party beneficiary contract, fraudulent transfer and civil conspiracy.[15]
Following a year off as a college basketball analyst forESPN3, Ford was hired in 2016 as an assistant for Stony Brook under head coach and his former Ohio teammateJeff Boals.[17] On March 17, 2019, Ford was named the interim head coach of Stony Brook after Boals resigned to accept the head coaching job at Ohio University.[18] Ford's interim tag was removed on March 26, when Stony Brook announced his promotion as the fourth head coach in the school's Division I era.[19] Ford's contract is for five years, running through the 2023–24 season, with the ability to negotiate an extension after the 2021–22 season.[20]
In Ford's first season, Stony Brook won 20 games for the eighth time in the last 11 seasons and finished in second place in the America East, their ninth top-2 finish over that time period.[21] After defeating Albany in the America East quarterfinals, Stony Brook was upset 64–56 at home by Hartford in the semifinals to end their season at 20–13.[22] Ford's second season at head coach saw Stony Brook finish 9–14, the program's worst record in 13 years.[23]
Ford won his 200th game as a head coach on December 14, 2021 againstCentral Connecticut.[24] In Ford's fourth season, Stony Brook moved from the America East to theColonial Athletic Association, but the Seawolves suffered multiple season-ending injuries and finished 11–22 to tie for ninth.[25] On February 7, 2024, Ford was extended for two more years through the 2025–26 season.[26] In March 2024, as the seventh seed in theCAA tournament, Stony Brook advanced to face top-seedCharleston in the championship game by upsetting two-seedDrexel, 91–88 (2OT) in the quarterfinals[27] and three-seedHofstra, 63–58 in the semifinals.[28] Stony Brook led Charleston 40–35 at the half and held Charleston scoreless in the final five minutes of regulation, scoring nine straight points to tie the game at 73 and go into overtime, where the Seawolves ultimately lost 82–79.[29] Stony Brook was the first seven seed to advance to the CAA Finals sinceEast Carolina in1993.[30]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shawnee State(American Mideast Conference)(2001–02) | |||||||||
| 2001–02 | Shawnee State | 22–10 | 13–5 | 3rd | |||||
| Shawnee State: | 22–10 (.688) | 13–5 (.722) | |||||||
| Muskingum(Ohio Athletic Conference)(2005–07) | |||||||||
| 2005–06 | Muskingum | 17–9 | 12–6 | 3rd | |||||
| 2006–07 | Muskingum | 12–13 | 6–12 | 8th | |||||
| Muskingum: | 29–22 (.569) | 18–18 (.500) | |||||||
| Kent State(Mid-American Conference)(2008–2011) | |||||||||
| 2008–09 | Kent State | 19–15 | 10–6 | T–3rd (East) | CIT First Round | ||||
| 2009–10 | Kent State | 24–10 | 13–3 | 1st (East) | NIT Second Round | ||||
| 2010–11 | Kent State | 25–12 | 12–4 | 1st (East) | NIT Quarterfinals | ||||
| Kent State: | 68–37 (.648) | 35–13 (.729) | |||||||
| Bradley(Missouri Valley Conference)(2011–2015) | |||||||||
| 2011–12 | Bradley | 7–25 | 2–16 | 10th | |||||
| 2012–13 | Bradley | 18–17 | 7–11 | T–7th | CIT Quarterfinals | ||||
| 2013–14 | Bradley | 12–20 | 7–11 | 7th | |||||
| 2014–15 | Bradley | 9–24 | 3–15 | 10th | |||||
| Bradley: | 46–86 (.348) | 19–53 (.264) | |||||||
| Stony Brook(America East)(2019–present) | |||||||||
| 2018–19 | Stony Brook | 0–1* | CBI First Round* | ||||||
| 2019–20 | Stony Brook | 20–13 | 10–6 | 2nd | |||||
| 2020–21 | Stony Brook | 9–14 | 7–9 | 7th | |||||
| 2021–22 | Stony Brook | 18–13 | 10–8 | 3rd | |||||
| Stony Brook(Coastal Athletic Association)(2022–present) | |||||||||
| 2022–23 | Stony Brook | 11–22 | 6–12 | T–9th | |||||
| 2023–24 | Stony Brook | 20–15 | 10–8 | T–6th | |||||
| 2024–25 | Stony Brook | 8–24 | 4–14 | 13th | |||||
| Stony Brook: | 86–102 (.457) | 47–57 (.452) | |||||||
| Total: | 248–256 (.492) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
*Ford was named interim head coach on March 17, 2019, after Boals took the head coaching job at Ohio. In addition, Ford holds a 5–5 postseason record as a Division I head coach (3–2 NIT, 0–1 CBI, 2–2 CIT).
Ford is married to his wife, Traci. He has two sons: Darin and David. His son, Darin, is the head coach at Nordonia High School in Ohio. Meanwhile, his younger son, David, served as director of player development under Ford at Stony Brook during the 2021–22 and 2022-2023 seasons.[31] Ford's brother,Dustin, is the associate head coach at Akron and also played for Ohio from 1998 to 2001.[32]
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