|
 Success
currently surrounds the Western Michigan men’s
basketball program in all aspects, both on the court
and in the classroom. A large reason for the current
standard has been the efforts of third-year head
coach Steve Hawkins.
The team and individual accomplishments of the
Bronco program under Hawkins’ direction are too
numerous to list and that comes after just two
seasons at the helm.
Thanks to the team’s efforts on the court, Bronco
fans have been spoiled in recent campaigns with
postseason appearances, all-conference caliber
players, attendance records and television
appearances (19 regional or national broadcasts
since 2003-04).
WMU owns three-straight 20-win seasons and
postseason appearances, matching the previous total
in both categories since the first season of Bronco
basketball in 1913-14. Since 2002-03, no
Mid-American Conference team can match WMU’s 66
overall victories and 36 league wins.
Hawkins has played a key role in the revitalization
of the program, first as an assistant and now as
head coach.
After a record-setting first year as head coach in
2003-04, the Broncos followed with a 20-win campaign
and National Invitation Tournament appearance in
2004-05. WMU became the first program ever to defend
its West Division title and featured the winningest
senior class in school history.
WMU captured the MAC division, regular season and
tournament championships en route to a 26-5 overall
record in 2003-04, the highest total in school
history. The team appeared in the NCAA Tournament
for just the third time since the program’s
inception after claiming the league’s automatic bid.
Along with individual and team success on the court,
the Broncos gained national attention throughout the
season. Included in the exposure was a national
television broadcast (ESPN2) at University Arena,
earned by the squad’s quick start.
Voted the top rookie head coach by Basketball Times
and Coach of the Year by the Basketball Coaches
Association of Michigan, Hawkins has also helped
renew interest on campus and in the community.
Players and coaches are heavily involved in
organizations throughout the Kalamazoo area and the
new student group “The Zoo” was a focal point for
Hawkins during the off-season.
Highly respected in his profession, Hawkins has
assembled one of the top coaching staffs not only in
the conference, but the region as well. WMU’s
recruiting efforts have reached new heights and for
the first time in recent memory the program received
an early commitment from a player in his junior
year.
Named Western Michigan’s 13th head coach on May 1,
2003, Hawkins didn’t have to move any further than
an office away after accepting the job. He had
served the previous three seasons as the program’s
top assistant under former head coach Robert
McCullum.
Hawkins, who has been coaching for 20 years in the
collegiate environment, brings a wealth of
experience to the program as both a head mentor and
assistant coach. He has also proven to be successful
at a number of levels, having completed a successful
career as the leader of an NCAA Division II program.
A 20-year veteran of the collegiate ranks, Hawkins
has settled in the Midwest after beginning his
career as a student at South Alabama. He has already
displayed the ability to direct a quality program,
both on the court and in the classroom, at the NCAA
Division II level.
Hawkins, 41, served for nine seasons as head coach
of the basketball program at Quincy University in
Illinois. The Ventura, Calif., native guided the
Hawks to an overall record of 137-111, a total that
included three NCAA Division II Tournament
selections.
In only his third year at Quincy, Hawkins guided the
Hawks to a 19-9 record and the first of back-to-back
NCAA berths. The following year (1994-95) Quincy
advanced to the Great Lakes Region semifinals and
earned a 23-7 record. QU also competed in the event
in 1996-97.
He was named the Illinois Basketball Coaches
Association NCAA Division II Coach of the Year four
times.
Hawkins first broke into the collegiate profession
at the University of South Alabama, where he worked
for three seasons (1985-87) under head coach Mike
Hanks as a student assistant.
After spending the 1987-88 campaign as a graduate
assistant at Quincy, Hawkins spent the next two
seasons as the top assistant coach at St. Andrew’s
College (NAIA) in Laurinburg, N.C.
He then returned to Quincy as an assistant coach for
one season (1990-91) before assuming the head
coaching duties in 1991-92.
At the age of 19, Hawkins was named the junior
varsity coach at Villanova Prep High School (Ojai,
Calif), a position he held for two seasons. He
followed that experience with a one-year stint as
the junior varsity coach at St. Bonaventure High
School (Ventura, Calif.) before moving from the west
coast.
Hawkins earned his bachelor's degree at South
Alabama in 1987 and went on to claim his master's
degree in sports science two years later at the
United States Sports Academy.
Hawkins married the former Lana Widman in 1997. The
couple resides in Kalamazoo. |
