The A-10 was once thought to be a conference where ‘up-and-coming’ coaches could parlay a few good years into an ‘big-time’ job. But a look at the numbers say otherwise, and it appears the A-10 has become much more of a coaching destination than a layover.
The A-10 having the second longest coaching tenure, on average, is rather surprising given the conference’s history of being a springboard for coaches. The top five most-tenured coaches among the nine ‘power’ conferences? Jim Boeheim, Mike Kryzewski, Bob McKillop, Phil Martelli, and Tom Izzo.
The numbers below are through the 2013-14 season and include all realignment moves effective July 1st.
1) ACC
Average tenure: 9.93 seasons
‘Dean’: Jim Boeheim (38 seasons, Syracuse)
2) A-10
Average tenure: 7.14 seasons
‘Dean’: Bob McKillop (25 seasons, Davidson)
3) Big 12
Average tenure: 6.3 seasons
‘Dean’: Rick Barnes (16 seasons, Texas)
4) Big 10
Average tenure: 5.79 seasons
‘Dean’: Tom Izzo (19 seasons, Michigan State)
5) Mountain West
Average tenure: 5.18 seasons
‘Dean’: Stew Morrill (16 seasons, Utah State)
6) Big East
Average tenure: 4.80 seasons
‘Dean’: Jay Wright (13 seasons, Villanova)
7) SEC
Average tenure: 4.71 seasons
‘Dean’: Billy Donovan (18 seasons, Florida)
8) Pac-12
Average tenure: 4.00 seasons
‘Dean’: Lorenzo Romar (12 seasons, Washington)
9) American
Average tenure: 3.36 seasons
‘Deans’: Fran Dunphy (8 seasons, Temple), Mick Cronin (8 seasons, Cincinnati)
Do any of these numbers surprise you? Add your thoughts in the A10talk.com forum.
