Out of the Woods: Six Mid-Major Schools in History Have Hired HBCU Coaches

An average of five coaches annually since 1994 directed a team to the NCAA Tournament before using it as a springboard to bigger and better things by accepting a similar position with another Division I school. Sean Woods became the sixth coach in this category this year when he left Mississippi Valley State for Morehead State.

Woods also became the sixth coach in history to be hired directly from a historically black college or university by a predominantly white school. The SWAC and MEAC moved up to the major-college level in 1979-80 and 1980-81, respectively.

John Cooper recently became the fifth coach in this HBCU category when Miami (Ohio) lured him away from Tennessee State after he guided the Tigers to their first 20-win season in 33 years. Woods and Cooper joined Jeff Capel Jr. (North Carolina A&T to Old Dominion after 1993-94 campaign), Rob Chavez (Maryland-Eastern Shore to Portland after 1993-94), Steve Merfeld (Hampton to Evansville after 2001-02) and James Green (Mississippi Valley State to Jacksonville State after 2007-08).

No power six conference member ever has gone to a HBCU to hire its head basketball coach. None of the limited progress would have occurred if not for pioneer John McLendon, who was the first African-American mentor hired by a predominantly white university when he coached Cleveland State for three seasons in the late 1960s just prior to the institution moving up to DI. After winning three consecutive NAIA titles with Tennessee State in the late 1950s, McLendon had been the first African-American head coach in professional sports when he was hired in the early 1960s by the George Steinbrenner-owned Cleveland Pipers of the short- lived American Basketball League.