James Whitford

Current position: Assistant men’s basketball coach
Current team: Rhode Island Rams (Head coach: Archie Miller)
Current conference: Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10)
Teams coached: Ball State Cardinals
Ball State record: 131-148 (.470)
Overall record: 131-148 (.470)

James Bryce Whitford
Born July 23, 1971
Hometown: Madison, Wisconsin
Alma Mater: University of Wisconsin (BS, 1994) / Miami University (MA, 1996)
Attended UW and served as a basketball student manager for three years under head coaches Steve Yoder and Stu Jackson
Started working at Miami (OH) after graduation, working his way up from a grad and administrative assistant under Herb Sendek to being the top assistant on Charlie Coles‘ staff by 1998
Joined Sean Miller‘s staff at Xavier in 2005, staying there for four years before following Miller to Arizona in 2009
- Promoted to associate head coach at UA in 2011, serving in this role for two years
Hired as the Ball State head coach in April 2013, his first head coaching opportunity
- Inherited a team that in was in the midst of a full re-build, winning just 12 combined games during the first two seasons
- Whitford’s teams won 21 games in both his third and fourth years and made consecutive trips to the CIT
- Has won a share of the MAC West division title three times during his tenure at Ball State
- Fired in March 2022 following nine seasons at the helm; went 131-148 overall
In April 2024, Whitford joined Archie Miller‘s staff at Rhode Island as an assistant coach