UPDATED: San Diego hires Steve Lavin as next head coach
Steve Lavin, the former head coach at UCLA (1996-2003) and St. John’s (2010-15), has been announced as head coach at San Diego. Lavin is 237-150 overall in his career and has been out of coaching and working in television since 2015.
“I’m thrilled to welcome Coach Lavin to the University of San Diego and can’t wait for this exciting new era of Torero basketball to begin,” AD Bill McGillis said in a release Thursday evening. “Coach Lavin’s demonstrated record of success, including having led teams to eight NCAA Tournament appearances in 11 full seasons as a head coach, his positive inspirational leadership, and his deep west coast roots provide a foundation to catapult our program to new heights. While I know the powerful impact he will make on our campus and in our community, I am especially pleased for the young men in our program. The experience, expertise, passion and ability to connect that Coach Lavin will bring to USD will serve them for a lifetime.”
Lavin took both the Bruins and Johnnies to the NCAA Tournament, having appeared in the Big Dance eight times in his career with five Sweet Sixteens. He started out working under Gene Keady at Purdue before getting a job on Jim Harrick‘s UCLA staff in 1991. The Bruins won a National Championship in 1995 and Lavin was promoted the following year, spending seven seasons at the helm in Westwood.
“I’m honored to have this opportunity of leading the University of San Diego men’s basketball program,” said Lavin. “Throughout my discussions with President Harris and Bill McGillis, I gained a greater respect for their vision of USD Athletics. My background living on the west coast, the rich history of WCC basketball, and the strong academic reputation of USD all made this an ideal fit from the beginning. I look forward to building relationships with the entire Toreros family as our program aspires towards excellence on and off the court.”
In addition to his most recent stint with Fox Sports and the Pac-12 Network, Lavin previously worked on-air at ESPN between 2003 and 2010. He grew up in Marin County, California and played collegiately at San Francisco State and Chapman.
credit to San Diego Athletics for the image
