Dana Ford
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Dana Ford (born June 9, 1984) is an 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 who is the head coach for
Missouri State University Missouri State University (MSU or MO State), formerly Southwest Missouri State University, is a public university in Springfield, Missouri. Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, it is the state's second largest university by enr ...
since March 21, 2018. Prior to coaching the Bears, he was the head coach at
Tennessee State Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennesse ...
from 2014 through the 2018 season. Ford is a former
basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
player, having played at
Illinois State Illinois State University (ISU) is a Public university, public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is reco ...
from 2002 to 2006. After not being selected in the 2006 NBA draft, the
Tamms, Illinois Tamms is a village in Alexander County, Illinois, United States. The population was 430 at the 2020 census, down from 632 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Cape Girardeau–Jackson, MO-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Tamms w ...
native joined the Tennessee State Tigers coaching staff under head coach John Cooper. He has previously been with
Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...
and Illinois State through his coaching career, playing a key role in the teams' recruiting and overall success.


Playing career

Ford attended Egyptian Senior High School in
Tamms, Illinois Tamms is a village in Alexander County, Illinois, United States. The population was 430 at the 2020 census, down from 632 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Cape Girardeau–Jackson, MO-IL Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Tamms w ...
. He became one of the most dangerous high school guards in the area and broke the school record for points scored by the end of his final season. Ford was coached by former All-State point guard Brad Sinks. Sinks would refer to Ford as “the puppet master” because of the way Ford could handle it on a string. To this day, Ford credits Coach Sinks for teaching him to play angry and hard nosed, which is seen in his coaching. Ford was named First Team Class A All-State and a two-time conference player of the year. At the conclusion of his basketball years in high school, the
shooting guard The shooting guard (SG), also known as the two, two guard or off guard,Shooting guards are 6'3"–6'7"BBC Sports academy URL last accessed 2006-09-09. is one of the five traditional positions in a regulation basketball game. A shooting guard's m ...
averaged 22 points per game. It was highly anticipated that he would bring his talent to the
Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball The Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represents Illinois State University, located in Normal, Illinois, in NCAA Division I basketball competition. They are currently led by head coach Ryan Pedon and play their home games at CEFCU A ...
team, choosing the school over other possibilities such as
Evansville Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in S ...
,
Southern Illinois Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is the southern third of Illinois, principally along and south of Interstate 64. Although part of a Midwestern United States, Midwestern state, this region is aligned in culture more with that of th ...
, and
Southeast Missouri State Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) is a public university in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. In addition to the main campus, the university has four regional campuses offering full degree programs and a secondary campus housing the Holland Col ...
. In his first season with Illinois State, Ford hardly made a significant impact on the team's backcourt scoring. He finished the season averaging 2.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 0.6 assists. Ford made eight starts in the entire year and scored his first points in his fourth collegiate appearance against
Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...
. His sophomore year would be far less successful, with Ford playing just twenty games in the season. Similarly went the following season, but he scored double-digits in the team's postseason game against Creighton. In Ford's final season, he recorded over nine points eight times through the season and logged a career-high 16 points as a starting guard against
Grambling State Grambling State University (GSU, Grambling, or Grambling State) is a public historically black university in Grambling, Louisiana. Grambling State is home of the Eddie G. Robinson Museum and is listed on the Louisiana African American Heritage ...
. By the end of his senior year, he ranked within the
Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...
's Top 10 under the steals and blocks categories. Ford was also named the squad's defensive player of the year due to this success. Ford entered the 2006 NBA draft, which turned unsuccessful after he was not selected by a single team at the conclusion of the event.


Coaching career

Ford began his career on the coaching staff at Winthrop, when he was named a graduate assistant. Under head coach
Gregg Marshall Michael Gregg Marshall (born February 27, 1963) is an American college basketball coach whose most recent position was head coach at Wichita State University. Marshall has coached his teams to appearances in the NCAA Division I men's basketball ...
, the team qualified for an NCAA Tournament berth. He continued holding the same position as he joined
Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...
with Marshall the next season. The Shockers continued to prevail and made another appearance in their postseason tournament. Ford's first year serving as an assistant coach was at
Chipola College Chipola College is a public college in Marianna, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. History The school was founded in 1947 as Chipola Junior College; its name was changed in 2003 after the college developed several bachelor's ...
, where he led the Indians to an impressive 35–2 overall record and a third-place spot in the NJCAA National Tournament. The team also won its fifth consecutive FCCAA State Championship. His second team as an assistant coach was
Tennessee State Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennesse ...
, where he helped John Cooper lead the team. The Tigers finished with a winning record and an exceptional performance against Murray State. Ford most notably helped in recruiting NBA player
Robert Covington Robert Covington (born December 14, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). he played college basketball for the Tennessee State Tigers. In 2018, he was named ...
to his team roster. After Tennessee State, Ford returned to
Wichita State Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...
to serve as an assistant coach under
Gregg Marshall Michael Gregg Marshall (born February 27, 1963) is an American college basketball coach whose most recent position was head coach at Wichita State University. Marshall has coached his teams to appearances in the NCAA Division I men's basketball ...
. This was his third time coaching alongside Marshall, who made the remark, "This is how much I think of Dana Ford. At age 26, this is the third time I have invited Dana to join my staff…he was first my graduate assistant at Winthrop, followed me to Wichita State, and then after sending him out into the world to Chipola, and to Tennessee State, where he has helped coach Cooper recruit a fine young group of players, I am inviting him back." The Shockers finished the season and Ford was instrumental to their conference tournament victory and an NCAA Tournament appearance. Ford came back to Illinois State to become the team's assistant coach. He was also named the recruiting coordinator to add on to his original coaching duties. Following his two seasons with his alma mater, Ford returned to Tennessee State for his first experience as a head coach. The position was secured after Travis Williams left the team following a 5–25 season. After going 5–26 in his inaugural season as head coach, Ford orchestrated the largest NCAA turnaround from 2014–15 to 2015–16 with a 15-win difference. In 2015–16, Ford was named the OVC Coach of the Year, led his team to 20 wins, and a berth in the CIT postseason tournament. He was also named the 2016 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) District 19 Coach of the Year, CollegeInsiders.com's Ben Jobe Award Winner, and the BOXTOROW Coach of the Year.


Head coaching record


Personal life

Ford is a
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
. Ford is married to Christina Ford. They have two daughters, Charlie Rose and Cline, and three sons, Cameron, Carson, and Crain. Their daughter, Promise, died in infancy. Ford is a supporter of his wife's charity, The Rebound Foundation, a non-profit that works to provide transitional housing to women and children who've experienced domestic abuse and educate on healthy relationships.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Dana 1984 births Living people American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Illinois Basketball players from Illinois College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball coaches Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball players Junior college men's basketball coaches in the United States Missouri State Bears basketball coaches People from Alexander County, Illinois Tennessee State Tigers basketball coaches Wichita State Shockers men's basketball coaches Shooting guards