 Lavin in 2010 | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | San Diego |
| Conference | WCC |
| Record | 38–64 (.373) |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | (1964-09-04)September 4, 1964 (age 61) San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1983–1984 | San Francisco State |
| 1985–1987 | Chapman |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1988–1991 | Purdue (assistant) |
| 1991–1996 | UCLA (assistant) |
| 1996–2003 | UCLA |
| 2010–2015 | St. John's |
| 2022–present | San Diego |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 275–214 (.562) |
| Tournaments | 11–8 (NCAA Division I) 1–2 (NIT) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
As head coach:
As assistant coach: | |
| Awards | |
| Pac-10 Coach of the Year (2001) | |
Stephen Michael Lavin[1] (born September 4, 1964) is an Americancollege basketball coach and former broadcaster who is the head coach of theSan Diego Toreros men's basketball team at theUniversity of San Diego (USD). He previously served as head coach of theSt. John's Red Storm andUCLA Bruins. In eleven full seasons as a head coach, Lavin had led teams to ten postseason appearances, highlighted by eightNCAA Tournament berths, an Elite Eight ('97), five NCAA Regional semifinals ('97, '98, '00, '01, '02) and nine campaigns of twenty or more wins. Lavin has also been a broadcaster forFox Sports,CBS Sports andPac-12 Network.
Lavin was born on September 4, 1964, inSan Francisco. He was raised in nearbyMarin County and attended Ross Grammar School before his time atSir Francis Drake High School inSan Anselmo, California, where he was a member of the basketball team that won the 1982 California state championship with a 34–0 record.
Lavin initially attendedSan Francisco State University, where he played on the basketball team for two years. He transferred toChapman University, from which he graduated in 1988 with abachelor's degree in communications.[2]
Lavin's coaching career began in 1988 when he was hired as an assistant byPurdue head coachGene Keady. After three years on the Boilermaker staff, Lavin returned to California whenUCLA head coachJim Harrick hired him as an assistant in 1991.
Prior to becoming head coach at UCLA, Lavin was an assistant coach on the Bruins' staff for five years, including the1995 national championship team that finished with a 32–1 record.[2]
Shortly before the 1996–97 season began, UCLA fired Harrick for issues related to violations at a recruiting meal.[3] Lavin was the assistant on staff with the longest tenure at UCLA and was selected as interim head coach.
Later that season on February 11, 1997, with the Bruins tied for first place in the Pac-10 with an 8–3 record, UCLA removed the "interim" tag from Lavin's title and formally named him as its 11th head coach. The Bruins then won their next 11 games en route to thePac-10 title, before being eliminated by theMinnesota Gophers in the NCAA Midwest Regional Final.
Notable Lavin achievements at UCLA:
In March 2003, following Lavin's first losing season at UCLA (10–19) and the school's first losing season in 54 years, Lavin was relieved of his duties as head coach.
In 2010, Lavin was hired as the head men's basketball coach atSt. John's University. During Lavin's tenure, three of his teams earned 20 or more wins, including two NCAA Tournament appearances.
In Lavin's first year, he coached the Red Storm to a 21–12 record. The 21 wins were St. John's highest total since the 2002–03 season and its NCAA tournament appearance was the first since 2002.
Lavin inherited a team that finished in 13th place in theBig East Conference in 2009–10. The next year the same players finished at 12–6. A jump of similar magnitude had previously occurred only one other time in Big East Conference history.
The Red Storm finished the 2011 season ranked 18th in the Associated Press Top 25, marking the first time it qualified for the postseason as a ranked team since 2000–01. The Red Storm posted a 7–1 record atMadison Square Garden and saw its home attendance climb by 38.1 percent, marking the fourth-largest increase in NCAA Division I men's basketball.
Lavin underwent treatment for cancer on October 6, 2011, consequently only coaching four games in the 2011–12 season as his doctors modified his schedule during recovery. [[6]
In 2012–13, Lavin's third year as head coach, St. John's finished with a 17–16 overall record. The Red Storm received anNIT bid, and earned a victory at the buzzer atSaint Joseph's before falling on the road toVirginia in the next game.
In the 2013–14 season, Lavin led the Red Storm to a 20–13 record finishing conference play in a three-way, third place tie that resulted in another invitation to theNIT, where they were upset byRobert Morris.
In 2014–15, Lavin led St. John's to a 21–12 record and a second NCAA tournament appearance.
Almost immediately after the season ended, on March 27, 2015, Lavin was fired. Thereafter, he returned to his role as a college basketball TV analyst in studio and in the booth for games.[7]
On April 6, 2022, Lavin made his return to coaching as he was hired to serve as the head coach of theSan Diego Toreros.[8] He currently has a record of 35-52 in 3 season as the head coach of the Toreros.[9]
Lavin began his broadcasting career in 2003, soon after being fired from UCLA, when he signed a multi-year deal with ABC andESPN. For seven years he made regular appearances on ESPN College GameNight and provided color commentary alongside his partnersBrent Musburger andDave O'Brien at prime-time college games around the country. Lavin also contributed to ESPN coverage on the NBA draft.
After being fired by St. John's, Lavin joined theFox Sports,CBS Sports andPac-12 Network broadcasting teams as a college basketball and NBA analyst.
Lavin has participated in and been involved with numerous organizations and charities throughout his coaching career. Such charities include the Jimmy V Foundation,Make-A-Wish Foundation,United Service Organization, Special Olympics, City of Hope, Coaches vs. Cancer, Pediatric Cancer Research Foundation, and Wounded Warriors.
In an October 2010 ceremony with Anthony Butler, executive director of St. John's Bread & Life, and Steve Starker of BTIG Brokerage, Lavin made a $35,000, multi-year pledge to aid New York City's homeless and hungry. Lavin was honored in 2011 with The Johnny's Angel Award, celebrating his contributions to the Bread and Life Soup Kitchen.
Lavin has been very active withThe V Foundation for Cancer Research, where he has joined in numerous fundraising and awareness events. Lavin is part of The V Foundation President's Club, donating more than $50,000 to the organization. Other members of the leadership team are Duke'sMike Krzyzewski, Kentucky'sJohn Calipari, and Michigan State'sTom Izzo. In addition, Lavin has been extremely involved with Coaches vs. Cancer, a foundation that Lavin has helped raise over $1.5 million for since 2010.
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UCLA Bruins(Pacific-10 Conference)(1996–2003) | |||||||||
| 1996–97 | UCLA | 24–8 | 15–3 | 1st | NCAA Division I Elite Eight | ||||
| 1997–98 | UCLA | 24–9 | 12–6 | 3rd | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
| 1998–99 | UCLA | 22–9 | 12–6 | 3rd | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 1999–00 | UCLA | 21–12 | 10–8 | T–4th | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
| 2000–01 | UCLA | 23–9 | 14–4 | 3rd | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
| 2001–02 | UCLA | 21–12 | 11–7 | 6th | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
| 2002–03 | UCLA | 10–19 | 6–12 | T–6th | |||||
| UCLA: | 145–78 (.650) | 80–46 (.635) | |||||||
| St. John's Red Storm(Big East Conference)(2010–2015) | |||||||||
| 2010–11 | St. John's | 21–12 | 12–6 | T–3rd | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 2011–12 | St. John's | 13–19 | 6–12 | T–11th | |||||
| 2012–13 | St. John's | 17–16 | 8–10 | 11th | NIT Second Round | ||||
| 2013–14 | St. John's | 20–13 | 10–8 | T–3rd | NIT First Round | ||||
| 2014–15 | St. John's | 21–12 | 10–8 | 5th | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| St. John's: | 92–72 (.561) | 46–44 (.511) | |||||||
| San Diego Toreros(West Coast Conference)(2022–present) | |||||||||
| 2022–23 | San Diego | 11–20 | 4–12 | 9th | |||||
| 2023–24 | San Diego | 18–15 | 7–9 | 5th | |||||
| 2024–25 | San Diego | 6–27 | 2–16 | 11th | |||||
| 2025–26 | San Diego | 3–2 | 0–0 | ||||||
| San Diego: | 38–64 (.373) | 13–37 (.260) | |||||||
| Total: | 275–214 (.562) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||