Steve Hawkins

Stephen Greg Hawkins (born August 3, 1962) is an American college basketball coach and the former head men's basketball coach at Western Michigan University.[1] He had previously served as the head coach at Quincy University.

For others with similar names, see Steven Hawkins.
Steve Hawkins
Hawkins in a 2011 game against Oakland University
Biographical details
Born (1962-08-03) August 3, 1962
Ventura, California, U.S.
Alma materSouth Alabama (1987) (BA)
United States Sports Academy 1989 (MA)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1981–1983Villanova Prep. School
1983–1984St. Bonaventure HS
1984–1987South Alabama (asst.)
1987–1988Quincy (asst.)
1988–1990St. Andrew's (asst.)
1990–1991Quincy (asst.)
1991–2000Quincy
2000–2003Western Michigan (asst.)
2003–2020Western Michigan
Head coaching record
Overall428–373 (.534)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2× MAC tournament (2004, 2014)
2x MAC regular season (2004, 2014)
8× MAC West Division (2004, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017)
Awards
MAC Coach of the Year (2014)

Background

Hawkins was born in Ventura, California. Following his graduation from high school, Hawkins spent time as a high school basketball coach in the Los Angeles area at Villanova Preparatory School and St. Bonaventure High School during the early 1980s.[1] During this time he worked as an assistant at UCLA basketball camps, serving as chauffeur for legendary Bruins coach John Wooden. While the two were stuck in traffic, they were able to talk basketball.[2][3] Hawkins maintained the UCLA connection during his coaching career, often having Wooden speak to his teams at Quincy and Western Michigan.[2] Former UCLA head coach Larry Farmer, would later work for Hawkins as an assistant coach at Western Michigan from 2010–12 and again from 2013 until the present.[4]

Hawkins later attended the University of South Alabama, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1987. From 1984–87 he served as a student assistant to men's basketball head coach Mike Hanks. In 1989 he earned his master's degree in sports science from the United States Sports Academy.[1]

Hawkins served as assistant coach at Quincy University from 1987-1988 and 1990-1991 and St. Andrews Presbyterian College in 1989. He was promoted to head coach at Quincy in 1992, and served there for 9 seasons until joining the staff of Robert McCullum at Western Michigan in the spring of 2000.

Western Michigan University

Hawkins was named head coach at Western Michigan University on May 1, 2003, following the departure of head coach Robert McCullum to South Florida.[1] Hawkins had served as an assistant coach on the WMU staff for the previous three seasons.

Under Hawkins, the Broncos have finished no worse than 3rd in the Mid-American Conference West Division. The team captured both the MAC regular season championship and conference tournament championship in 2003–04. That squad eventually fell to Vanderbilt in the opening round of the 2004 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.

Following the 2004–05 season, the Broncos participated in the 2005 National Invitation Tournament.

In 2005 Hawkins was a finalist for the head coaching job at DePaul University that eventually went to Jerry Wainwright.[5] He has also received head coaching offers from the University of San Francisco (2004),[5] the University of Nevada, and Southern Methodist University. He also received interest from Bradley University and Loyola-Chicago.[6]

In July 2007, Hawkins was hospitalised for three days following a seizure in his office.[7]

Following the 2007–08 basketball season, Hawkins was very critical of the post season basketball tournaments. Despite a 20-win season and a MAC West Division title, WMU was passed over for post season play, including the new College Basketball Invitational.

Following the 2010–11 basketball season, Hawkins coached the Broncos in the 2011 CollegeInsider.com Tournament. After a victory in the opening round against Tennessee Tech, the Broncos fell in the second round to MAC rival Buffalo.

Following the 2012-13 basketballs season, Hawkins and Broncos participated in the 2013 College Basketball Invitational. They won their first 2 games before falling to George Mason in the semifinals.

The 2013-14 Broncos were one of the most successful of Hawkins' tenure, with a Rainbow Classic Championship, a MAC regular season championship, and a MAC tournament championship. The team made the NCAA tournament, where as a #14 seed they fell in the opening round to #3 seed Syracuse by a score of 77-53. Following the season, Hawkins was named the 2014 MAC Men's Basketball Coach of the Year.[8]

On Wednesday, March 11, 2020, Western Michigan announced Hawkins would not return, ending his 17-year run as head coach.[9]

Head coaching record
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Quincy (Great Lakes Valley Conference) (1991–2000)
1991–92 Quincy 8–20
1992–93 Quincy 16–11
1993–94 Quincy 19–9[1]NCAA DII first round
1994–95 Quincy 23–7NCAA DII Semifinals
1995–96 Quincy 17–10
1996–97 Quincy 20–9NCAA DII Regional semifinals
1997–98 Quincy 12–14
1998–99 Quincy 12–15
1999–00 Quincy 10–16
Quincy: 137–111 (.552)
Western Michigan (Mid-American Conference) (2003–2020)
2003–04 Western Michigan 26–515–31st (West) NCAA Division I Round of 64
2004–05 Western Michigan 20–1311–7T–1st (West) NIT 2nd Round
2005–06 Western Michigan 14–1710–8T–2nd (West)
2006–07 Western Michigan 16–169–72nd (West)
2007–08 Western Michigan 20–1212–41st (West)
2008–09 Western Michigan 10–217–9T–1st (West)
2009–10 Western Michigan 18–158–8T–2nd (West)
2010–11 Western Michigan 21–1311–51st (West) CIT 2nd Round
2011–12 Western Michigan 14–206–10T–3rd (West)
2012–13 Western Michigan 22–1310–61st (West) CBI semifinals
2013–14 Western Michigan 23–1014–4T–1st (West) NCAA Division I Round of 64
2014–15 Western Michigan 20–1410–83rd (West) CIT 1st Round
2015–16 Western Michigan 13–197–116th (West)
2016–17 Western Michigan 16–1611–7T–1st (West)
2017–18 Western Michigan 17–159–94th (West)
2018–19 Western Michigan 8–242–166th (West)
2019–20 Western Michigan 13–196–12T–5th (West)
Western Michigan: 291–262 (.526)158–134 (.541)
Total:428–373 (.534)

      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. "Steve Hawkins bio". Western Michigan University. Archived from the original on March 2, 2014. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  2. Couch, Graham (June 8, 2010). "Western Michigan coach Steve Hawkins recalls special moments with legendary John Wooden". mlive.com. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  3. "Basketball Videos - Basketball Training and Basketball Coaching at Better Basketball". Archived from the original on October 26, 2007.
  4. Couch, Graham (February 27, 2011). "Unlikely assist: Former UCLA basketball star and coach Larry Farmer puts ego aside to coach with friends at Western Michigan University". mlive.com. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  5. Mernagh, Ray (April 17, 2005). "DePaul Coaching Search". Collegehoopsnet.com. Archived from the original on March 10, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  6. Couch, Graham (August 3, 2011). "WMU basketball coach Steve Hawkins signs new five-year contract, upping guaranteed salary to $310,000 annually". mlive.com. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  7. "W. Michigan's Hawkins spent three days in hospital after seizure". Associated Press. July 2, 2007. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
  8. "WMU basketball coach Steve Hawkins receives $75,000 raise with new contract, assistants' salary pool to increase". June 5, 2014.
  9. "Steve Hawkins out at Western Michigan after 17 seasons as head coach". ESPN. March 11, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
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