Mike DeGeorge

Last updated

Mike DeGeorge
Current position
Title Head coach
Team Cal Poly
Conference Big West
Record16–19 (.457)
Biographical details
Born (1970-01-03) January 3, 1970 (age 55)
Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S.
Playing career
Basketball
1989–1992 Monmouth (IL)
Golf
1991–1992 Monmouth (IL)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Basketball
1993–1994 Beloit (assistant)
1994–1999 Lawrence (assistant)
1999–2000 Grinnell (assistant)
2000–2004 Eureka
2004–2009 Cornell (IA)
2010–2018 Rhodes
2018–2024 Colorado Mesa
2024–present Cal Poly
Head coaching record
Overall336–310 (.520)
Tournaments0–2 (NCAA Division III)
4–4 (NCAA Division II)

Michael E. DeGeorge (born January 3, 1970) [1] [2] is an American basketball coach who is the current head coach of the Cal Poly Mustangs. He played college basketball for the Monmouth Fighting Scots and has previously coached the Beloit Buccaneers, Lawrence Vikings, Grinnell Pioneers, Eureka Red Devils, Cornell, Rhodes Lynx and Colorado Mesa Mavericks.

Contents

Early life

DeGeorge was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the son of coach Ed DeGeorge. [3] He grew up in Wisconsin. [2] DeGeorge attended Monmouth College in Illinois where he played four years of basketball and two years of golf, helping the basketball team win two conference championships with two NCAA Division III tournament appearances. [4] [5] He received a bachelor's degree in psychology from Monmouth in 1992 and later received a master's degree from Viterbo University in 1999. [6] Prior to his coaching career, DeGeorge spent two years as a teacher, first at Marmion Academy in 1992, and then at Durand High School in 1993, both schools in Illinois. [7]

Coaching career

DeGeorge began his coaching career as an assistant with the Beloit College basketball team for head coach Knapton in the 1993–94 season. [5] He subsequently was an assistant for the Lawrence Vikings from 1994 to 1999 and for the Grinnell Pioneers from 1999 to 2000. [5] He was the recruiting coordinator at Grinnell and learned the run-and-gun playstyle there, which he utilized later in his career as a head coach. [2]

DeGeorge received his first head coaching job with the Division III Eureka Red Devils in 2000, serving four seasons in the position. [3] He brought the team from having had a mere two wins the year before he arrived to 17 wins by his final season, which was their best record in over 10 years. [3] DeGeorge then was hired by the Cornell Rams and served with the team from 2004 to 2009, helping them have their first NCAA tournament appearance. [3] He helped the 2008–09 Cornell team win the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) championship, with DeGeorge being chosen the IIAC's Coach of the Year. [8]

DeGeorge was hired as the head coach of the Rhodes Lynx in 2010. [8] He served in the position for eight seasons, coming in after the team had recorded 10 straight losing seasons. [6] He helped them share the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) championship in 2012–13 and repeated in 2014–15. [6] He was named the SAA Coach of the Year for the 2016–17 season, in which his team were the national leaders in assists, won the SAA championship, and made their first NCAA Division III Tournament appearance in 24 years. [6] [9]

In 2018, DeGeorge became the head coach of the Division II Colorado Mesa Mavericks. [10] [11] They had won 19 games total in the two seasons before his arrival, but he led them to 19 wins in his first season there. [5] He then helped them win consecutive Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) championships in his second and third seasons, which were the first RMAC titles in school history. [6] [12] He ultimately served six seasons with the Mavericks and reached five NCAA tournaments while having an average of 23 wins per season; DeGeorge was the RMAC and NCAA West Region Coach of the Year in 2020–21 (when he helped Colorado Mesa finish the regular season ranked first nationally) and received the RMAC Coach of the Year award a second time for the 2022–23 season. [5] [6]

In March 2024, DeGeorge received his first Division I coaching job, being named the head coach of the Cal Poly Mustangs. [5] In his debut season with Cal Poly, DeGeorge guided the program to a 12-win improvement from its prior year (the season's fifth-highest leap nationally), along with a trip to the Big West Tournament semifinals. [13]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
Eureka Red Devils (Northern Illinois-Iowa Conference)(2000–2004)
2000–01Eureka 2–231–11
2001–02Eureka 5–202–10
2002–03Eureka 8–173–9
2003–04Eureka 17–109–3
Eureka:16–70 (.186) [14] 15–33 (.313)
Cornell Rams (Iowa Conference / Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference)(2004–2009)
2004–05Cornell 6–193–139th
2005–06Cornell 3–222–149th
2006–07Cornell 8–174–128th
2007–08Cornell 9–177–96th
2008–09Cornell 21–712–42nd NCAA Division III First Round
Cornell:47–82 (.364) [15] 28–52 (.350)
Rhodes Lynx (Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference / Southern Athletic Association)(2010–2018)
2010–11Rhodes 7–183–1212th
2011–12Rhodes 18–912–43rd
2012–13Rhodes 16–1011–32nd
2013–14Rhodes 15–127–74th
2014–15Rhodes 20–711–32nd
2015–16Rhodes 10–164–106th
2016–17Rhodes 17–1111–31st NCAA Division III First Round
2017–18Rhodes 13–137–74th
Rhodes:116–96 (.547)66–49 (.574)
Colorado Mesa Mavericks (Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference)(2018–2024)
2018–19Colorado Mesa 19–1014–85th
2019–20Colorado Mesa 21–1014–84th NCAA Division II Canceled
2020–21Colorado Mesa 21–218–11st NCAA Division II First Round
2021–22Colorado Mesa 26–1017–52nd NCAA Division II Sweet 16
2022–23Colorado Mesa 25–619–32nd NCAA Division II First Round
2023–24Colorado Mesa 29–521–11st NCAA Division II Sweet 16
Colorado Mesa:141–43 (.766)103–26 (.798)
Cal Poly Mustangs (Big West Conference)(2024–present)
2024–25 Cal Poly 16–198–12T–7th
Cal Poly:16–19 (.457)8–12 (.400)
Total:336–310 (.520)

      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

References

  1. ↑ "Mike DeGeorge". coachesdatabase.com. Retrieved July 28, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 Calkins, Geoff (January 8, 2017). "Radical New Era". The Commercial Appeal . p. 25, 30 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  3. 1 2 3 4 Arnold, Patti (May 8, 2018). "Mavericks' new coach coming back to his roots". Grand Junction Daily Sentinel . p. 9, 12 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  4. ↑ Ho, Matthew (March 26, 2024). "Cal Poly announces Colorado Mesa's Mike DeGeorge as new men's basketball coach". The Tribune .
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Cal Poly Names Mike DeGeorge Men's Basketball Head Coach". Cal Poly Mustangs. March 26, 2024.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Mike DeGeorge". Colorado Mesa Mavericks.
  7. ↑ "Mike DeGeorge". The Volunteer . September 2, 1993. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  8. 1 2 "Mike DeGeorge named Rhodes Head Men's Basketball Coach". Rhodes Lynx. May 18, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Mike DeGeorge - Men's Basketball Coach". Rhodes College Athletics.
  10. ↑ "Mike DeGeorge - Men's Basketball Coach". Colorado Mesa University Athletics.
  11. ↑ Arnold, Patti (October 16, 2018). "Culture Change At CMU". Grand Junction Daily Sentinel . p. 9, 11 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  12. ↑ Arnold, Patti (March 13, 2021). "Follow the leader". Grand Junction Daily Sentinel . p. 11 – via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  13. ↑ Ho, Matthew (March 16, 2025). "Cal Poly SLO men reach Big West semifinals with victory". The Tribune (San Luis Obispo, CA). pp. 1B.
  14. ↑ "Eureka College" (PDF). Eureka College.
  15. ↑ "Men's Basketball - Past Seasons". rollrivers.com.
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