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