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Phil Ford

Retired Professional Basketball Player; Named National Player of the Year, First-Team All-America, ACC Player of the Year & Olympic Gold Medalist

Retired Professional Basketball Player; Named National Player of the Year, First-Team All-America, ACC Player of the Year & Olympic Gold Medalist

Travels From Travels From:
Raleigh, NC, USA
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Phil Ford Biography

Phil Ford currently works for the Educational Foundation, the fund-raising arm of the North Carolina athletic department. He has been an invaluable member of the Carolina basketball family for over 25 years. As a point guard, Ford earned first-team All-America honors three times and was the 1978 National Player of the Year. In his 11-year stint as a UNC assistant coach, Ford was a tireless instructor, motivator and recruiter.

Ford's name is synonymous with his enthusiastic attitude, and it is that quality which made him stand out from many assistant coaches. Ford has been a part of five Final Four appearances, five NCAA Regional titles and five ACC Tournament titles. He has coached 10 first-round draft picks, including 1998 National Player of the Year Antawn Jamison.

Ford, Jamison and Michael Jordan are the only Tar Heel players to win the John Wooden Award as the nation's top player. Carolina is the only school to have three different payers win the Wooden Award.

Ford, a native of Rocky Mount, N.C., and a 1974 graduate of Rocky Mount High School, was a backcourt star on Carolina teams that won 99 of 124 games in his four years. Those teams went to the NCAA Tournament four times and advanced to the championship game in Ford's junior year. As a senior, Ford won the coveted Wooden Award. He was also named the National Player of the Year in 1978 by the United States Basketball Writers Association, the National Association of Basketball Coaches and The Sporting News.

Ford is Carolina's alltime leading scorer with 2,290 points. He saved what was perhaps his greatest collegiate performance for his final home game in Carmichael Auditorium, scoring a career-high 34 points in leading the Tar Heels to an Atlantic Coast Conference regular-season championship-clinching 87-83 win over Duke. Ford also held Carolina's single-game, season and career assist records until Jeff Lebo, Ed Cota and Kenny Smith eclipsed Ford's numbers.

Ford was the first freshman during Smith's tenure to start in the first game of his Carolina career. He capped a brilliant freshman year by leading the Tar Heels to the 1975 ACC Tournament championship, becoming the first freshman in league history to win the Everett Case Award as the Most Valuable Player in the ACC Tournament.

Ford earned first-team All-ACC accolades in 1976, 1977 and 1978. He also was named first-team All-ACC Tournament in 1975, 1976 and 1977 and second-team in 1978. He was listed on multiple All-America teams in earning first-team status in 1976, 1977 and 1978. He was also a first-team freshman All-America in 1975.

In his senior season Ford was voted the ACC Player of the Year, and in both 1977 and 1978 he was given the Anthony J. McKevlin Award as the ACC Athlete of the Year. In May 1978, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration.

Ford was taken as the second player in the 1978 NBA draft by the Kansas City Kings and won the 1979 NBA Rookie of the Year award. He also was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team and to the All-NBA second team. Ford's tenure with the Kings lasted four seasons, and he finished his NBA career by playing one year with the New Jersey Nets and the Milwaukee Bucks and two seasons with the Houston Rockets.

Ford was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in May 1991.

Although Ford has come a long way from his backyard basketball court in Rocky Mount where he learned to play the game in the late 1960s and early 1970s, it is evident that family is an important aspect in Ford's life.

"I enjoy spending time with my wife and my two kids," says Ford. "You don't realize how lucky you are until you have a family of your own."

Ford was married in July 1988 to Traci Vample, a Salem College graduate and native of Durham, N.C. The Fords have a daughter, Tyler, and a son, Mitchell.

Phil Ford Videos

  • Former UNC basketball assistant coach Phil Ford talks about Hubert ...
  • Men's Health Chat with Phil Ford
    Former Gold Medal Olympian and UNC Basketball Great, Phil Ford joins filmmaker Michael Washington in the Tarheel Tesla to talk about ...

Phil Ford Books

  • The Kid Who Couldn't Dunk
    The Kid Who Couldn't Dunk

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FAQs on booking Phil Ford

  • How do I book Phil Ford to speak at my event?

    Our experienced booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure speakers like Phil Ford for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment since 2002. Click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page to check availability for Phil Ford, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get speaking fee information and check availability for Phil Ford or any other speaker of your choice.
  • What are the speaker fees for Phil Ford

    Speaking fees for Phil Ford, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. The estimated fees to book Phil Ford are for live events and for virtual events. For the most current speaking fee to hire Phil Ford, click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak directly with an experienced booking agent.
  • What topics does Phil Ford speak about?

  • Where does Phil Ford travel from?

    Phil Ford generally travels from Raleigh, NC, USA, but can be booked for private corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. For more details, please contact an AAE Booking agent.
  • Who is Phil Ford’s agent?

    AAE Speakers Bureau has successfully booked keynote speakers like Phil Ford for clients worldwide since 2002. As a full-service speaker booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Please click the Check Availability button above and complete the form on this page including the details of your event, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book Phil Ford for your next private or corporate function.
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    AAE Speakers Bureau is a full-service speaker booking agency, meaning we can completely manage the speaker’s or celebrity’s engagement with your organization from the time of booking your speaker through the event’s completion. We provide all of the services you need to host Phil Ford or any other speaker of your choice, including offer negotiation, contractual assistance, accounting and billing, and event speaker travel and logistics services. When you book a speaker with us, we manage the process of hosting a speaker for you as an extension of your team. Our goal is to give our clients peace of mind and a best-in-class service experience when booking a speaker with us.
  • Why is AAE Speakers Bureau different from other booking agencies?

    If you’re looking for the best, unbiased speaker recommendations, paired with a top-notch customer service experience, you’re in the right place. At AAE Speakers Bureau, we exclusively represent the interests of our clients - professional organizations, companies, universities, and associations. We intentionally do not represent the speakers we feature or book. That is so we can present our clients with the broadest and best performing set of speaker options in the market today, and we can make these recommendations without any obligation to promote a specific speaker over another. This is why when our agents suggest a speaker for your event, you can be assured that they are of the highest quality with a history of proven success with our other clients.

Phil Ford is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics . The estimated speaking fee range to book Phil Ford for your event is $5,000 - $10,000. Phil Ford generally travels from Raleigh, NC, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Dave Dravecky, Josh Davis, Shawn Harper, Mike Minter and Muggsy Bogues. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Phil Ford for an upcoming live or virtual event.

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