Clayton Bates (basketball)

Last updated
Clayton Bates
Biographical details
Born1972or1973(age 51–52) [1]
Playing career
1992–1996 Florida
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1998–2000 Jacksonville (assistant)
2000–2008 Western Michigan (assistant)
2009–2010Western Michigan (assistant)
2010–2012 Wright State (assistant)
2012–2020Western Michigan (assistant)
2020–2022Western Michigan
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1997–1998 Illinois (admin asst.)
Head coaching record
Overall13–39 (.250)

Clayton Bates (born 1972/73) [1] is an American basketball coach. He was most recently the men's head coach for the Western Michigan Broncos.

Contents

Early life and education

Bates played basketball at Florida from 1992 to 1996. He helped the Gators reach the Final Four in 1994. Bates was the 1996 Most Outstanding Academic Player, and was named the 1996 Fred Koss Memorial Award winner. He earned a bachelor's degree in exercise physiology in 1995 and completed his master's degree in sports administration in 1997 at Illinois. [2]

Coaching career

Bates began his coaching career as an administrative assistant at Illinois in 1997 under Lon Kruger. Bates became an assistant at Jacksonville in 1998 under Hugh Durham. Bates joined Western Michigan as an assistant in 2000. [2] He decided to take a year off from coaching in 2008, taking a job at a medical supply company to spend more time with his family. [3] Bates returned to Western Michigan for the 2009–10 season. In 2010, Bates decided to become an assistant at Wright State. After two seasons, Bates became homesick for Kalamazoo and returned to Western Michigan. He helped the Broncos reach the NCAA tournament in 2014. [1]

On March 28, 2020, Bates was promoted to head coach at Western Michigan, replacing his former boss Steve Hawkins. Athletic director Kathy Beauregard said the COVID-19 pandemic affected the job search but Bates was the right person for the job. Bates' salary increases from $110,000 to $120,000 per year, with an additional $100,000 for multimedia rights and speaking opportunities. [4] He took over a program that finished 21–43 in the past two seasons, but he retained assistant coach Thomas Kelley. [5] Shortly after he was hired, the top two scorers at Western Michigan, Michael Flowers and Brandon Johnson, decided to transfer. [1] On March 7, 2022, Bates was fired, after finishing 5–16 in his first season and 8–23 in his second. [6]

Personal life

Bates is married to the former Annemarie Mernagh, who was an All-Big East volleyball player at the University of Pittsburgh and was an assistant volleyball coach at Western Michigan. They have two daughters, Annelyse and Sydney. [2]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Western Michigan (MAC)(2020–2022)
2020–21 Western Michigan 5–164–129th
2021–22 Western Michigan 8–234–1612th
Western Michigan:13–39 (.250)8–28 (.222)
Total:13–39 (.250)

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Murray (ice hockey)</span> Canadian ice hockey coach and former player

Andy Murray is the former head coach for the Western Michigan Broncos men's ice hockey team of the NCAA Division I National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC). He is a former head coach of the Los Angeles Kings and the St. Louis Blues in the National Hockey League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Michigan Broncos football</span> Sports program

The Western Michigan Broncos football program represents Western Michigan University in the Football Bowl Subdivision of Division I and the Mid-American Conference (MAC). Western Michigan has competed in football since 1906, when they played three games in their inaugural season. In 1927, WMU joined four other schools to form the Michigan Collegiate Conference. Western Michigan then moved to its present conference in 1948. Prior to 1939, Western Michigan's athletic teams were known as the Hilltoppers.

William John Cubit is an American football coach and former player. Cubit was the head football coach at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, first on an interim basis in the 2015 season and then promoted to the post full-time before his dismissal on March 5, 2016. Cubit served as the head football coach at Widener University from 1992 to 1996, and Western Michigan University from 2005 to 2012. Most recently, in 2019, he served as assistant head coach and running backs coach at his alma mater, the University of Delaware.

Mike DeBord is an American football coach who was most recently the offensive coordinator at the University of Kansas. He was previously the offensive coordinator of the San Diego Fleet of the Alliance of American Football (AAF), and was the associate head coach and offensive coordinator at Indiana University prior to joining the AAF. DeBord was the head football coach at Central Michigan University from 2000 to 2003, compiling a record of 12–34. He worked as an assistant coach at the University of Michigan for a total of 11 seasons, from 1993 to 1999 and again from 2004 to 2007. He was the offensive coordinator for the Michigan Wolverines for five seasons including Michigan's 1997 campaign, in which the team won part of a national championship. DeBord has also worked as an assistant coach in the National Football League (NFL), with the Seattle Seahawks (2008–2009) and the Chicago Bears (2010–2012).

Robert L. McCullum is an American men's college basketball coach who was most recently the head men's basketball coach at Florida A&M. He previously served as the head coach of the Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team and the University of South Florida (USF) Bulls men's basketball team. He is a native of Birmingham, Alabama.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Kool</span> American basketball player and coach

David Anderson Kool is a former collegiate basketball player for the Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team. Kool is WMU's all-time leading scorer and was named Mid-American Conference (MAC) Player of the Year in his senior season. Kool was the boys' basketball coach at Jenison High School in Jenison, Michigan and at Holland Christian High School, in Holland, Michigan. Kool previously served as assistant coach for the WMU men's basketball team from 2011–13. Kool was named athletic director at South Christian High School on April 15, 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Hawkins</span> American basketball coach

Stephen Greg Hawkins is an American college basketball coach. He is currently an assistant coach for Southern Illinois. He had previously served as the head coach at Western Michigan University and Quincy University.

Michael E. Miller is an American basketball coach who is an assistant coach for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007–08 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2007–08 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Broncos, 20–12 overall and 12–4 in the conference, captured the MAC West Division championship by four games and earned the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. WMU reached the semi-finals of the MAC tournament before falling to No. 3 seed Akron.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009–10 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2009–10 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team was an NCAA Division I college basketball team representing Western Michigan University. The team was the two-time defending Mid-American Conference (MAC) West Division champion. WMU was coached by Steve Hawkins who was in his seventh season as head coach of the school. The Broncos played their home games at University Arena in Kalamazoo, Michigan. They finished the season 18–15, 8–8 in MAC play and lost in the semifinals of the 2010 MAC men's basketball tournament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bacari Alexander</span> American basketball coach

Bacari Torrell Alexander is an American college basketball coach, formerly the men's basketball head coach at Detroit Mercy. He is a former assistant coach at Michigan, Western Michigan, Ohio, and Detroit Mercy. At Michigan, Alexander was responsible for coaching the team's post players, developing defensive strategies, scouting opponents and on-court coaching. In six seasons as an assistant coach under Michigan head coach John Beilein, Michigan advanced to the NCAA tournament each year, won Big Ten Conference regular season championships in 2012 and 2014 and appeared in the Elite 8 in 2014 and the National Championship in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brad Underwood</span> American basketball coach (born 1963)

Bradley Cole Underwood is the current head coach for the Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team. Previously, he served as head coach at Oklahoma State, Stephen F. Austin, Dodge City Community College, and Daytona Beach Community College and assistant coach at Western Illinois, Kansas State, and South Carolina.

Pat Ferschweiler is an American ice hockey coach and former player. He is currently the head coach for the Western Michigan Broncos.

Dwayne Stephens is an American basketball coach who is currently the men's head coach for the Western Michigan Broncos. Previously, he was an assistant and associate head coach at Michigan State for 19 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020–21 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2020–21 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team represented Western Michigan University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Broncos, led by first-year head coach Clayton Bates, played their home games at University Arena in Kalamazoo, Michigan as members of the Mid-American Conference. In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, they finished the season 5–16, 4–12 in MAC play to finish in ninth place. As a result, they failed to qualify for the MAC tournament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021–22 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2021–22 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team represented Western Michigan University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Broncos, led by second-year head coach Clayton Bates, played their home games at University Arena in Kalamazoo, Michigan as members of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 8–23, 4–16 in MAC play, to finish in last place. They failed to qualify for the MAC tournament.

Jacob Bullock is an American basketball head coach who is currently an assistant coach of Western Michigan Broncos under head coach Clayton Bates. He played college basketball at Aquinas College, where he ranked sixth all-time in points in school history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022–23 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season</span> Sports season

The 2022–23 Mid-American Conference men's basketball season is the season for Mid-American Conference men's basketball teams. It began with practices in October 2022, followed by the start of the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play began in January 2023 and concluded in March 2023. The 2023 MAC tournament was held at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, Ohio for the 24th consecutive season.

Events from the year 2022 in Michigan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022–23 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2022–23 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team represented Western Michigan University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Broncos, led by first-year head coach Dwayne Stephens, played their home games at University Arena in Kalamazoo, Michigan as members of the Mid-American Conference. They finished 8–23 with a 4–14 MAC record. They finished last in the MAC and failed to qualify for the MAC tournament.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Paul, Tony (March 31, 2020). "New WMU coach Clayton Bates didn't see this coming, but 'I don't make any apologies, either'". The Detroit News . Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 "Western Michigan Promotes Clayton Bates to Head Men's Basketball Coach". Western Michigan Broncos . March 28, 2020. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  3. ↑ Couch, Graham (July 6, 2008). "Fatherhood pulls Bates from Western Michigan's men's basketball staff". MLive . Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Western Michigan promotes Clayton Bates to head coach as AD says pandemic impacted search". ESPN . The Associated Press. March 28, 2020. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  5. ↑ Petzold, Evan (March 30, 2020). "New Western Michigan basketball coach Clayton Bates simply wanted to keep his family home". Detroit Free Press . Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  6. ↑ Paul, Tony (March 7, 2022). "Western Michigan men's basketball coach Clayton Bates out after just 2 seasons". Detroit News . Retrieved March 7, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.