Jan van Breda Kolff
Jan van Breda Kolff (born December 16, 1951)
Teams coached: Cornell Big Red, Vanderbilt Commodores, Pepperdine Waves, St. Bonaventure Bonnies
Cornell record: 23-29 (.442)
Vanderbilt record: 104-81 (.562)
Pepperdine record: 47-18 (.723)
St. Bonaventure record: 18-27 (.400) **
Overall record^: 192-155 (.553) **
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 2 (1997, 2000)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 0
- NIT Championships: 0 (Runner-up in 1994)
- NIT Appearances: 5 (1994, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2002)
- WCC Regular Season Champion: 1 (2000)
Awards:
- SEC Player of the Year: 1 (1974)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 2008-2010 | Nashville Broncs/Music City Stars |
| 2003-2004 | New Orleans Hornets (asst) |
| 2001-2003 | St. Bonaventure |
| 1999-2001 | Pepperdine |
| 1993-1999 | Vanderbilt |
| 1991-1993 | Cornell |
Jan van Breda Kolff Facts
- Jan Michael van Breda Kolff
- Born December 16, 1951
- Hometown: Palos Verdes, California
- Alma Mater: Vanderbilt University (BA, 1974)
- Son of former college and NBA head coach Butch van Breda Kolff and grandson of Dutch footballer Jan van Breda Kolff
- After graduating from Palos Verdes HS, van Breda Kolff played at Vanderbilt for head coach Roy Skinner
- Named SEC Player of the Year as a senior in 1974
- Drafted 20th overall in the 1974 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers; played professionally for 10 years in the NBA, ABA and Italy’s LBA
- Spent time playing for Larry Brown, Hubie Brown and Kevin Loughery, among others, during his professional career
- Spent two years as the head coach at Cornell before returning to his alma mater as head coach in 1993
- Won 104 games in six seasons at Vandy, leading the Commodores to the NCAA Tournament in 1997 and the NIT three times (including a runner-up finish in 1994)
- Was the head coach at Pepperdine for two years, leading the Waves to a first round NCAA Tournament upset win over Indiana in his first year
- Spent two seasons at St. Bonaventure, a tenure which ended in controversy due to the team’s use of an ineligible transfer
- Though he was cleared of wrongdoing personally, the NCAA penalized the school for lack of institutional control and vacated 12 of the team’s 13 wins in the 2002-03 season
- Joined Tim Floyd‘s NBA staff as an assistant with the New Orleans Hornets in 2003
- After several years out of coaching, van Breda Kolff became the head coach of the Nashville Broncos of the new ABA in 2008
- He coached the team the following year under its new name (Music City Stars) but the team folded following that season
- Along with his wife, Betty, has two sons
Jan van Breda Kolff Coaching Tree
- Gib Arnold (Hawaii, Southern Idaho)
- Kenny Blakeney (Howard)
- Houston Fancher (Charlotte, Appalachian State)
- Kerry Keating (Santa Clara)
- Randy Monroe (UMBC)
- Buzz Peterson (UNC Wilmington, Coastal Carolina, Tennessee, Tulsa, Appalachian State)
- Benjy Taylor (Tuskegee, Hawaii, Chicago State, North Central)
^ overall record includes head coaching positions at the NCAA Division I level only
** Listed records and accomplishments for this coach do not include wins or appearances later vacated by the NCAA