Steve Lavin begins his third season in the broadcast booth as an ABC and ESPN College Basketball Analyst. During the 2005-06 season Lavin will once again work alongside broadcasting legend Brent Musburger. Lavin will share with viewers his experienced coaching perspective and his lifelong love for college basketball and its rich history.
Lavin’s coaching perspective was forged over 15 years as a Division I college basketball coach at both UCLA and Purdue University. As UCLA Head Basketball Coach from 1996-2003 Lavin compiled a record of 145-78. In his inaugural season as head coach, Lavin directed the Bruins to the 1997 Pac-10 Championship and the NCAA Elite Eight.
During his time working the sidelines at both Purdue and UCLA, Lavin’s teams qualified for 13 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances (1989-2002). Lavin was an assistant coach on the Bruins 1995 National Championship team that finished with a 32-1 record.
During Lavin’s tenure as a head coach, he was one of only two coaches in the country, along with Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, to lead his team to five NCAA “Sweet 16s” in six years (‘02, ’01, ’00, ’98, ’97). Lavin guided UCLA to six consecutive 20+ game winning seasons and to six consecutive NCAA tournaments. As head coach, his career record in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament is 10-1.
In 2001, after the Bruins finished 23-9, Lavin was honored with the Pacific-10 Coach of the Year award. He is the only head coach in NCAA Men’s Basketball history to lead his team to victory over the No. 1 team in the country in four consecutive collegiate seasons (Arizona ’03, Kansas ’02, Stanford ’01, Stanford ’00).
As head coach at UCLA, Lavin recruited and signed the No. 1 rated recruiting class in the country in both 1998 and 2001. He signed seven McDonald’s High School All-Americans. One or more of his former UCLA players or recruits has been chosen in the NBA draft over the past nine consecutive years (1997-2005). As a result, the Bruins have the longest streak of any college in the country of consecutive years having a player drafted to the NBA. Six of Lavin’s former Bruin players are currently members of NBA teams.
In March of 2003, after twelve years on the UCLA staff, Lavin had his first losing season (10-19) as a head coach and was relieved of his duties. Shortly thereafter, Lavin was signed to a multi-year contract with ESPN and ABC where he provided color commentary as both game and studio analyst.
On March 30, 2010, Lavin was hired as Head Coach for St. John's University.
Lavin received the 1997 International Inspiration Award from the Hugh O’Brien Youth Foundation (HOBY). Lavin continues to serve on the Board of Governors at his alma mater Chapman University, where he received the 2005 Distinguished Alumni award from the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts.
Lavin is frequently an invited keynote speaker throughout the country for business, community and collegiate events. He addresses a wide range of topics including effective communication, motivation, management, recruiting, leadership, and naturally, college basketball.
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