Akron hires Dustin Ford as men's basketball head coach
Ford, a long-time staffer under John Groce, is set to lead the Zips after Groce's departure.
The University of Akron made quick work of their head coaching search in the wake of John Groce's departure for College of Charleston, keeping the hire in-house by promoting assistant coach Dustin Ford to the head job.
The hiring was made official on Monday afternoon, soon after Groce's hiring at Charleston was reported by Field of 68's Jeff Goodman.
"Dustin Ford is the right leader to guide Akron men's basketball into its next chapter," University of Akron President R.J. Nemer said via press release. "He has been a key part of our sustained success and brings the integrity, leadership and competitive mindset that define this program."
After four years with the Ohio Bobcats as a player from 1998-2002, Ford went to nearby Jackson HS [OH] to start his career. In 2006, Ford took his first collegiate coaching job at Western Carolina under Larry Hunter, for who he played at Ohio. Ford served as the Catamounts' recruiting coordinator and was eventually promoted to associate head coach in 2008.
While at Western Carolina, two players Ford recruited (Brigham Waginger and Richie Gordon) would go on to win Southern Conference defensive player of the year honors in back-to-back seasons (2010, 2011.)
Ford joined John Groce's Ohio staff the following year, helping guide his alma mater to two NCAA Tournament appearances, including a Sweet 16 bid in 2012. Ford followed Groce to Illinois in 2013, and stayed on at Akron through this past campaign.
Overall, Ford has been to seven NCAA Tournaments, six MAC Tournament championships, a SoCon regular season championship and three NIT Invitationals.
Ford comes from a coaching family; his father, Gene, is a coaching legend at Cambridge HS [OH] and also had a successful tenure at D-III Muskingum College. Ford also has an older brohter, Geno, who is the current head coach at Stony Brook. Geno has also been a head coach at Kent State and Bradley at the D-I level.
This will be Ford's first head coaching job at the collegiate level.
"We will build a team that is connected and competes with a level of toughness our fans have come to expect," Ford said via press release. "Our staff will be committed to developing our student-athletes every day they are at the University of Akron. I'm excited to build on what we've already accomplished and take it to another level."
As of publication, contract details are unknown. A press conference to introduce Ford is set for a day to be determined later.
