Introduction
Geno Ford (born October 11, 1974) is an American college basketball coach. He has previously served as head coach at Bradley University, Kent State University, Muskingum University (then Muskingum College), and Shawnee State University, and as an assistant at Ohio University and Kent State.
Ford began his coaching career in 1998 as a Graduate 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 the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) in 2001. After one season at Shawnee State, he was hired as an assistant at Kent State under Jim Christian, where he coached for three seasons. In 2005, Ford was hired as head coach at Muskingum College, now Muskingum University, of the NCAA 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 to TCU, and coached the Golden Flashes for three seasons. At Kent State, Ford led the team to consecutive Mid-American Conference regular season titles in 2010 and 2011, winning MAC Coach of the Year both years. His teams at KSU advanced to the post-season in each of his three seasons, playing in the 2009 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament and the 2010 and 2011 National Invitation Tournaments. He finished with a record of 68–37 at Kent State, including 35–17 in MAC play. Following his success at Kent State, he was hired by Bradley University in 2011, where he coached four seasons. His teams at Bradley never finished above 7th in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC), advancing to post-season play in the 2013 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. He was relieved of his duties at the conclusion of an injury-riddled 2014–15 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. He was hired in 2016 as an assistant at Stony Brook under head coach and his former Ohio teammate, Jeff Boals.
Ford played collegiately at Ohio University as a guard. As a high school standout at Cambridge High School in Cambridge, Ohio he was named Ohio's Mr. Basketball in 1993. He played for his father Gene Ford. His career total of 2,680 points is fourth in the history of Ohio high school boys basketball, behind Jon Diebler (3,208 points), Luke Kennard (2,977 points) and Jay Burson (2,958), but higher than LeBron James (2,646).
Ford owns a 5-4 post season record as a Division I head coach: Kent State (0-1 CIT, 3-2 NIT), Bradley (2-1 CIT).
Ford has a wife, Traci, and two sons, Darin (21) and David (13).
Coaching tree
Ford has several successful college head and assistant coaches apart of his coaching tree from his head coaching stints. Listed below are members who have been named or otherwise have been college head coaches.
- Rob Senderoff - head coach at Kent State; was Ford's associate head coach at Kent State for three seasons (2008-2011).
- Patrick Beilein - head coach at LeMoyne; was Ford's director of basketball operations at Bradley for one season (2011-12).
Head coaching record
| 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 (.688) | |||||||
| 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 1st Round | ||||
| 2009–10 | Kent State | 24–10 | 13–3 | 1st (East) | NIT 2nd Round | ||||
| 2010–11 | Kent State | 25–12 | 12–4 | 1st (East) | NIT Quarterfinals | ||||
| Kent State: | 68–37 (.637) | 35–13 (.729) | |||||||
| Bradley (Missouri Valley Conference) (2011–present) | |||||||||
| 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) | |||||||
| Total: | 165–155 (.516) | ||||||||
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National champion Postseason invitational champion |
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