Michael John Montgomery (born February 27, 1947) is a retired American

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 (appro ...

coach. He is best known for his 18-year tenure at

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

(1986–2004), where he led the program to 12 NCAA Tournaments, including a Final Four appearance in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

. Montgomery previously served as head coach at the

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

(1978–1986). Following his time at Stanford, he coached the

Golden State Warriors The Golden State Warriors are an American professional basketball team based in San Francisco. The Warriors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. Founded in 1946 i ...

of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

(NBA) for two seasons (2004–2006) before ending his career at the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

(2008–2014). He announced his retirement from coaching following the 2013–14 season. Over his 32-year collegiate coaching career, Montgomery made 16 NCAA Tournaments, captured 6 conference championships, and amassed nearly 700 victories. He also led Stanford to the NIT championship in

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

Early years

Born and reared in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, Montgomery graduated from its

Millikan High School Robert A. Millikan Senior High School is a high school in Long Beach, California, United States, administered by the Long Beach Unified School District. It is located near the intersection of Spring Street and Palo Verde Avenue in the Los Alto ...

and attended

Long Beach State California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), also known in athletics as Long Beach State University (LBSU), is a public teaching-focused institution in Long Beach, California, United States. The 322-acre campus is the second largest in the ...

. He received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

from Long Beach State and later a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in physical education from

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...

Fort Collins A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...

. Montgomery is an alumni member of

Sigma Alpha Epsilon Sigma Alpha Epsilon () is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on March 9, 1856.Baird, William Raimond, ed. (1905).Baird's Manual of American College Fratern ...

fraternity A fraternity (; whence, "wikt:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular ...

, which he joined while at Long Beach State.

College coaching career

Montgomery compiled a 677–317 () overall record in over 30 years at Berkeley (2008–2014), Stanford (1986–2004) and Montana (1978–1986). He boasts 31 winning seasons in his 32 years as a head coach at Berkeley, Stanford and Montana. Montgomery's Stanford teams reached the NCAA tournament ten straight times from 1995 to 2004. Stanford reached the Final Four under Montgomery in 1998, the school's first Final Four appearance in 56 years. He made his third appearance along the USA Basketball sidelines in 2002 when he was named an assistant under

George Karl George Matthew Karl (born May 12, 1951) is an American former professional basketball coach and player. After spending five years as a player for the San Antonio Spurs, he became an assistant with the team before being appointed as a head coach ...

for the US national team in the

2002 FIBA World Championship The 2002 FIBA World Championship was the 14th edition of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's national teams. The tournament was held by the FIBA, International Basketb ...

. Prior to being named head coach at Montana in 1978, he was an assistant for the Grizz in Missoula for two seasons under new head coach Jim Brandenburg, who succeeded

hall of famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

Jud Heathcote George Melvin "Jud" Heathcote (May 27, 1927 – August 28, 2017) was an American basketball player and coach. He was a college basketball head coach for 24 seasons: five at the Montana Grizzlies basketball, University of Montana and nineteen ...

in 1976. Brandenburg left after two season for

Wyoming Wyoming ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States, Western United States. It borders Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho t ...

in 1978 and Montgomery was promoted. At Montana, Montgomery coached future NBA players

Micheal Ray Richardson Michael Ray Richardson (born April 11, 1955), known as Micheal Ray Richardson, is an American former professional basketball player and head coach. He played college basketball for the Montana Grizzlies. The No. 4 overall pick in the 1978 NBA dr ...

and

Larry Krystkowiak Larry Brett Krystkowiak ( ; born September 23, 1964) is a retired American professional basketball player, and former head coach of the Utah Utes men's basketball team. Early life Krystkowiak was born in Missoula, Montana, to Bernard and Helen K ...

. Prior to Montana, Montgomery was an assistant for three years at

Boise State Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It ...

under Bus Connor, and had previously been an assistant for a season each at four different schools. In 2000, Montgomery was named the Naismith and Basketball Times Coach of the Year. He was also named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year four times. Following his career at Stanford, he was awarded the John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Lifetime Achievement Award. On August 30, 2007, Stanford University announced that Montgomery was returning to the university as Assistant to the Athletic Director on a part-time basis. According to the announcement, "his duties will include fund raising and public relations while also serving as a mentor to Stanford's coaching staff." On April 4, 2008, Montgomery was named the head coach of the California men's basketball program. In his first season the Golden Bears went 22–10 and made it to the NCAA tournament, where they lost in the first round to

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. On February 27, 2010, Cal defeated Arizona State, 62–46, to clinch at least a tie for the Pacific-10 Conference championship, the first for the school since 1960. On March 6, the Bears defeated Montgomery's former team, Stanford, 71–61, to clinch an undisputed conference championship. Cal was defeated by

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

in the finals of the Pac-10 tournament, but received a bid to the NCAA tournament, where they were seeded 8th in the South Region. The Bears advanced to the second round, where they were defeated by eventual National Champion

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

. On March 31, 2014, Montgomery announced his retirement from California.

NBA coaching career

Montgomery left Stanford to become the head coach of the

on May 21, 2004. He coached the Warriors for two seasons, during each of which the team compiled identical 34-48 records. Montgomery was terminated as Warriors coach on August 29, 2006.

Personal

In October 2011, Montgomery revealed that he had recently been diagnosed and treated for

bladder cancer Bladder cancer is the abnormal growth of cells in the bladder. These cells can grow to form a tumor, which eventually spreads, damaging the bladder and other organs. Most people with bladder cancer are diagnosed after noticing blood in thei ...

. After a surgical procedure was performed, Montgomery declared himself "cancer-free. On February 18, 2013, Coach Montgomery was reprimanded by the Pac-12 Conference for shoving one of his players in the chest during a game against USC. The conference did not announce what punishment Montgomery received for his actions, although he was not suspended. Commissioner Larry Scott commented, "While emotions can run high in competitive environments, Pac-12 coaches are expected to conduct themselves in a manner that will reflect credit on the institution and the conference." Montgomery and his wife Sara have two adult children; son John is an assistant coach at

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

Head coaching record

Mike Montgomery in huddle at 2008 Golden Bear Classic championship game

College

NBA

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References

External links