Jim Brovelli

Jim Brovelli (born April 15, 1942)

Teams coached: San Diego Toreros, San Francisco Dons
San Diego record^: 158-133 (.543)
San Francisco record: 132-154 (.462)
Overall record^: 290-287 (.503)

Career Accomplishments:

  • NCAA National Championships:  0
  • NCAA Tournament Appearances:  1  (1984)
  • NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen:  0
  • NIT Championships:  0
  • NIT Appearances:  0
  • WCC Regular Season Champion:  1  (1984)
  • NCAA Division II Tournament Appearances:  3  (1974, 1978, 1979)

Awards:

Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):

1999-2000 Sioux Falls Skyforce
1999 Washington Wizards (interim HC)
1997-1999 Washington Wizards (asst)
1996-1997 Denver Nuggets (DPD/asst)
1984-1995 San Francisco
1973-1984 San Diego
1964-1966 San Francisco (asst)

Jim Brovelli Facts

  • James Mario Brovelli
  • Born April 15, 1942
  • Hometown: San Francisco, California
  • Alma Mater: University of San Francisco (BA, 1964) / University of the Pacific (MA, 1968)
  • Graduated from St. Ignatius College Prep (CA) then played for coach Peter Peletta at USF; All-WCC honorable mention in 1964
    • Was a teammate at both places with lifelong friend and fellow USF head coach Dan Belluomini
  • Early coaching experience included a brief stint as an assistant under Peletta at his alma mater
  • Became the head coach at San Diego in 1973, then still competing at the Division II level
    • Reached the D-II NCAA Tournament three times before guiding the program into D-I play in 1979
    • Went 158-133 overall and took the program to its first-ever D-I NCAA Tournament in 1984
  • Returned to his alma mater in 1984, taking over a USF program that was in its third and final year of self-imposed hiatus (due to NCAA violations occurring under the previous coaching staff
    • The Dons began play again in 1985 and while they struggled on the court, Brovelli was key in pulling the program out of the darkness
    • Brovelli was 132-154 in ten seasons as head coach, finishing above .500 four times but never reaching the postseason
  • Spent the rest of his coaching career at the professional level, first with the Denver Nuggets (under Dick Motta) then with the Washington Wizards (under longtime friend Bernie Bickerstaff)
    • Served as the Wizards’ interim head coach for 18 games in 1999, going 5-13 to close out the season
  • Was head coach of the Sioux Falls Skyforce for the 1999-2000 CBA season, going 30-26 and reaching the playoffs
  • Inducted into the USF Athletics HOF as a player in 1964 and the USD Athletics HOF as a coach in 2002
    • Also a part of the San Francisco Prep HOF, the San Francisco Hall of Honor (2015) and the WCC Hall of Honor (2015)
  • Along with his wife, Nada, has a son, Mike, and a daughter, Michele

Jim Brovelli Coaching Tree

  • Jay John (Oregon State)
  • Eric Musselman (Arkansas, Nevada, LA D-Fenders, Reno Bighorns, Sacramento Kings, Golden State Warriors)

 

^ overall record includes head coaching positions at both the NCAA Division I and Division II level; San Diego was a Division II program until 1979, making the transition during Brovelli’s tenure as head coach