Steven Cornell Cleveland (born February 4, 1952) is a former American
college basketball
In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
coach. He had been men's head basketball head coach at
Fresno City College
Fresno City College (FCC or "Fresno City") is a public community college in Fresno, California. It is part of the State Center Community College District within the California Community Colleges system. Fresno City College operates on a semester ...
,
BYU
Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...
, and
Fresno State
California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...
.
Early life and education
Cleveland was born in
Los Angeles County and raised in
Fresno, California
Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...
.
He attended
Herbert Hoover High School in Fresno, then began his college basketball career at
Fresno City College
Fresno City College (FCC or "Fresno City") is a public community college in Fresno, California. It is part of the State Center Community College District within the California Community Colleges system. Fresno City College operates on a semester ...
before going on a mission for
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...
to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
from 1971 to 1973. Cleveland returned to Fresno City College in the 1973–74 season, after which he was named the team's Most Outstanding Player and transferred to
UC Irvine
UC may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* '' University Challenge'', a popular British quiz programme airing on BBC Two
** ''University Challenge (New Zealand)'', the New Zealand version of the British programme
* Universal Century, one of the t ...
.
At UC Irvine, Cleveland played at
forward. He averaged 8.8 points and 4.8 rebounds as a junior in 1974–75 and 15.0 points and 5.5 rebounds as a senior in 1975–76. Cleveland graduated from UC Irvine with a bachelor's degree in social science in 1976 and later completed a master's in education administration from
Fresno Pacific University
Fresno Pacific University (FPU) is a private Christian university in Fresno, California. It was founded as the Pacific Bible Institute in 1944 by the Pacific District Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches. The university awarded its first Bac ...
in 1979.
Coaching career
High school and junior college
From 1980 to 1990, Cleveland was varsity boys' basketball head coach at
Clovis West High School
Clovis West High School (CWHS) is a co-educational, public high school part of the Clovis Unified School District in the well-established suburban community in northeast Fresno, California. It was founded in 1976, and has grades 9-12. Clovis West ...
and went 180–70 in those ten seasons.
At Clovis West, Cleveland also taught U.S. government and economics. Cleveland returned to Fresno City College to be men's basketball head coach. From 1990 to 1997, Cleveland went 157–77 with a
Central Valley Conference championship in 1997 and
CCCAA
The California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) is a sports association of community colleges in the U.S. state of California. It oversees 108 athletic programs throughout the state. The organization was formed in 1929 as the Calif ...
Tournament appearances every year. Among players he coached at Fresno City were
Rafer Alston
Rafer Jamel Alston (born July 24, 1976), also known as Skip to my Lou or Skip 2 My Lou, is an American retired professional basketball player. Alston first gained basketball fame playing in the AND1 Mixtape Tour in 1999 before making the National ...
, who would go on to play in the NBA.
BYU
Cleveland moved up to the major college level in 1997 as head coach at
BYU
Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...
. He inherited a team that had just suffered a 1–25 season, the worst in school history.
In his first season, BYU finished 9–21 in 1997–98. BYU improved to 22–11 in 1999–2000, BYU's first season in the
Mountain West Conference
The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations ...
(MW) and made the
NIT quarterfinals.
The following season, BYU won the MW Tournament after splitting the regular season title and made the
NCAA tournament. BYU then made the
2002 NIT and NCAA Tournaments of
2003 and
2004 and again was MW co-champion in 2003. The MW also awarded Cleveland with Coach of the Year honors in 2003. BYU fell to 9–21 in 2004–05, Cleveland's final season.
Fresno State
On April 9, 2005,
Fresno State
California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California. It is one of 23 campuses in the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers bachelo ...
hired Cleveland as men's basketball head coach. Cleveland's hiring followed the resignation of previous head coach Ray Lopes. In 2006, due to recruiting violations under Lopes's watch, the NCAA issued a
show-cause penalty In the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), a show-cause penalty is an administrative punishment ordering that any NCAA penalties imposed on a coach found to have committed major rules violations will stay in effect against that coach fo ...
to Lopes and placed Fresno State men's basketball on five years of probation. Also, Cleveland inherited a program whose
Academic Progress Rate The Academic Progress Rate (APR) is a measure introduced by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the nonprofit association that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States and Canada, ...
(APR) was 611, the worst in the nation.
Cleveland went 92–98 in six seasons at Fresno State.
In his first two seasons, Fresno State finished 8–8 and 10–6 in
Western Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, and Texas.
Due to mos ...
(WAC) play, and Fresno State's only postseason appearance in his tenure was in the
NIT.
The 2006–07 team also featured
Dominic McGuire, a transfer from
Cal who became a second-round
2007 NBA draft pick. The team APR also improved to 928 by the end of his tenure.
Post-coaching career
On March 17, 2011, Cleveland stepped down from coaching to assume an administrative post in the Fresno State athletic department.
Later that year, Cleveland took a position as an analyst for
BYUtv Sports.
In 2013, he began a three-year term as a
mission president
Mission president is a priesthood leadership position in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). A mission president presides over a geographic area known as a mission and the missionaries serving in the mission. Depending o ...
for
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...
in the
Indiana Indianapolis Mission.
Head coaching record
Junior college
Source:
College
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cleveland, Steve
1952 births
Living people
Basketball coaches from California
Latter Day Saints from California
American men's basketball players
BYU Cougars men's basketball announcers
BYU Cougars men's basketball coaches
College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
Fresno City Rams men's basketball players
Fresno Pacific University alumni
Fresno State Bulldogs men's basketball coaches
Junior college men's basketball coaches in the United States
Mission presidents (LDS Church)
Place of birth missing (living people)
UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball players
Basketball players from Fresno, California
High school basketball coaches in California
American Mormon missionaries in England
Forwards (basketball)