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 “This two-year extension puts the present and future of the Kent State men’s basketball program in the capable hands of head coach Geno Ford,” Kennedy said.  “This decision was made with the full support of University President Lester Lefton and in consultation with [future Director of Athletics] Joel Nielsen.  We could not be more pleased to keep Geno in the Kent State family.”

At 35, Ford has made his mark among successful young coaches in the country.  In just his second season at the helm of the Golden Flashes program, he led the team to a 24-10 overall record and a Mid-American Conference Regular Season Championship with a 13-3 mark.  Along the way, Ford was named both the MAC and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) District 14 Coach of the Year.  He was also honored by Sporting News as the top coach in the league this season.  

“I am grateful to have the opportunity to continue to work for such an outstanding University and for the consistent support our program receives from President Lefton, Mr. Kennedy and Mr. Nielsen,” Ford said.  “Both my staff and I look forward to a long run of continued success.”

Since the Cambridge, Ohio native took over the program, Kent State has compiled a 43-25 (.632) record and reached post season competition twice.  In addition to posting the fourth best single season in school history with 24 wins, Ford led the Golden Flashes to their first post season victory in eight years.  By advancing to the second round of the National Invitation Tournament, he became one of only three KSU head coaches to win a post season game. 

Under Ford’s tutelage this season, the Golden Flashes were proficient on both defense and offense as KSU led the MAC in steals (8.8 per game) and, with just 12.3 per game, also had the fewest turnovers of any team in the conference.

The Golden Flashes program is one of just 11 schools in the country to win at least 20 games in 11 of the last 12 years and ranks 16th nationally over that time span with 281 victories.