Brian Hammel

Brian Hammel (born March 23, 1953)

Teams coached: Bentley Falcons, Northern Illinois Huskies
Bentley record^: 91-70 (.565)
Northern Illinois record: 117-138 (.459)
Overall record^: 208-208 (.500)

Career Accomplishments:

• NCAA National Championships:  0
• NCAA Tournament Appearances:  1  (1996)
• NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen:  0
• NIT Championships:  0
• NIT Appearances:  0
• Horizon League Tournament Champion:  1  (1996)

Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):

1991-2000	Northern Illinois
1986-1991	USC (asst)
1984-1986	Iowa (asst)
1978-1984	Bentley

Brian Hammel Facts

• Brian Hammel
• Born March 23, 1953
• Hometown: White Plains, New York
• Alma Mater: Bentley University (BA, 1975)
• The NY-native played for head coach Al Shields at D-II Bentley (MA); was teammates with older brother, Bert, for two seasons
  • Drafted by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 3rd round (7th pick) of the 1975 NBA Draft but never played in the league
• Became head coach at his alma mater in 1978 and went 91-70 over six seasons at the helm
  • Had four seasons over .500, including a 22-6 record in his first year, but didn’t reach the postseason; the Falcons did reach the D-II NCAA Tournament in 1985, one year after Hammel left and was replaced by Frank Sullivan
  • Hammel was inducted into the Bentley Athletic Hall of Fame in 1984; his brother, Bert, was inducted in 1990
• Joined George Raveling‘s coaching staff at Iowa in 1984 and two years later moved over to USC with him
  • Spent seven total seasons under Raveling, during which he was part of three NCAA Tournament appearances
• Hired in 1991 to be the head coach at Northern Illinois, spending 9+ seasons with the Huskies’ program
  • Went 117-138 overall, highlighted by the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons when NIU was a combined 39-20
  • The Huskies won the 1996 Horizon League Tournament to get to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in program history
  • Resigned in December 2000 after a 1-6 start; ended his tenure with the third-most wins (now fourth) in NIU history
• After coaching, Hammel became the president of the Northridge Hospital Foundation in 2002
• Brian’s brother, Bert Hammel, was the head coach at (then D-II) Merrimack for 36 seasons, going 526-491 overall

Brian Hammel Coaching Tree

• Andy Greer (Northern Illinois)
• Benjy Taylor (Tuskegee, Hawaii, Chicago State, North Central)

 

^ overall record includes head coaching positions at both the NCAA Division I and Division II levels