It’s 8:30 a.m. Wednesday and Steve Alford woke up as a 60 year old man for the 11th day in a row. He is in his office at University of Nevada joking that the monumental coaching record he recently set “just means I’m getting old.”
But there have been plenty of 60-year-old coaches before him in Division I basketball, hundreds before him, and yet Alford is only the second in DI college hoops history to accomplish this feat: win at least 100 games at four different schools. .
156 in Iowa. 155 in New Mexico. 124 at UCLA. And now 102 in Nevada.
That places Alford alongside the late legendary Lefty Driesell, the coach known for starting Midnight Madness, but also the first coach in history to win his 100th game at his fourth school in 2002 with Georgia State. Driesell also has at least 100 victories at Davidson (176), Maryland (348) and James Madison (159). He retired in January 2003, midway through his 41st season, with a career record of 786-394, which at the time made him the fourth DI men’s basketball coach behind only Dean Smith, Adolph Rupp and Bob Knight.
To be mentioned in the same breath as Driesell is an honor, says Alford, a coach he never played against but followed throughout his career.
The Steve Alford Story, Part 1: “Everything Coach Knight promised me, it all came true.”
Alford’s 100th Nevada victory came on November 16 at home with an 85-59 win over Santa Clara. Since that game, the team has won two more, putting Alford at 102 wins with Nevada and 6-2 for the season.
With an overall record of 687-357, Alford is the 11th winningest active DI coach. Yet as he spoke about his 100-win feat against IndyStar on Wednesday, Alford gave much of the credit to his fellow coaches and players throughout his 34-year career.
“I’ve been with incredible teams every step of the way and win, lose or draw, these were the people I wanted to go through this with, these challenges, these celebrations with,” he said. “And then, obviously, the players that these teams brought in, just high-character guys. And that’s not to say that we won all of our games or that we didn’t have some speed bumps along the way, but just incredible players.”
Alford, who played his college career under Knight at IUwinning a national title in 1987, spent four years in the NBA after being drafted 26th overall by the Dallas Mavericks. He also played for the Golden State Warriors before leaving professional basketball in 1991.
“And I tell people all the time that I had no idea the journey I was going to take once I stopped acting. I was only 26 when I got into this business and the Manchester College hired me,” Alford said. “I had no idea what my career was going to look like.”
In Manchester, Alford finished with a 78-29 record in four years before moving to Southwest Missouri State where he compiled a 78-48 record the next four years. Once in Iowa, his 100-plus wins began.
“I’m very fortunate that every school, every place, every town, every community has been amazing. And at every stop, something really cool has happened with our family,” Alford said. “And you know those are really the only things you can hope for when you’re a husband, a father and, yes, you know now, a grandfather.”
Yes, Alford and his wife, Tanya, are grandparents, and he said it’s just as wonderful as he’s heard.
AJ is two and a half years old and the son of Bryce Alford and his wife Ali. Bryce is now an assistant coach with the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA G League. Kai is just over a year old and the son of Kory Alford and his wife, Haley. Kory is the head coach at Huntington University.
“I’m so lucky that basketball has been so good to our family,” Alford said.
As for setting this historic record? “You know, I don’t think anyone wins enough, but I think the communities appreciated the way we did it, the culture that we were trying to build in basketball.”
The Steve Alford series
The Steve Alford Story, Part 1: “Everything coach Knight promised me, it all came true”
The Steve Alford Story, Part 2: Learning from Bob Knight — the hard way
The Steve Alford Story, Part 3: Defeated the first time, he brings Indiana to Nevada
Steve Alford: The Early Years
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Alford was born in Franklin, Indiana on November 23, 1964.
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He played for New Castle High School, where his father, Sam, was his coach.
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Alford became New Castle’s all-time single-game and career scoring leader.
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He scored 57 points in the 1983 semistate game and totaled 2,116 career points, placing him 33rd on Indiana’s all-time scoring list.
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He was Indiana’s Mr. Basketball in 1983.
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The Steve Alford Inn in New Castle pays homage to him and remains current: a giant shoe is repainted in the colors of the team he currently coaches.
Follow IndyStar sports reporter Dana Benbow on X: @DanaBenbow. Contact her by email: [email protected]
This article was originally published on the Indianapolis Star: Steve Alford Just Made DI Basketball Coaching History With Epic Feat
