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I’m not going to say I know how D1, D2, JUCO and NAIA searches operate. Those are for the search firms at the highest level.
However, I have 12 years of experience being an assistant and head coach at the college level (four institutions in three different leagues, public and private) and sat on many committees including men’s volleyball, men’s hockey, women’s basketball, women’s soccer, track and field to name a few. Not to mention I saw things from an overall campus standpoint working in information technology, admissions and sports information. I was able to make relationships and sit on different meetings with presidents, vice presidents and athletic directors.
A little background on D3 level, there are nearly 430 institutions, the largest division. What people on the outside may not recognize is there are different levels (not literally) of D3. I’ve broken it down into four categories:
High Academic Institutions - UAA (University Athletic Association) that travel across country for conference games
Larger Public Institutions - WIAC (Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference), SUNY (State University of New York)
Private Institutions (healthy enrollment/high endowments) - These could be in the CCIW (College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) or other schools sprinkled all over the country in different states
Private Institutions (enrollment driven/small endowments) - Truly counting on every single student and credit
We have seen in the recent years of schools closing in the Midwest: Holy Family, Finlandia, Northland, Cardinal Stritch, Iowa Wesleyan
Institution Perspective
Like everything in life this isn’t black and white. Grey area does exist. I’m not saying this is a blanket statement and how the process should play out every single time.
There are some D3 institutions that have strong administration and a knack for making the right hires. They avoid politics and truly do what’s best for their programs.
However, I think there are many institutions where they think once they post the job, the right candidate will show-up at their door.
In my opinion, D3 athletic directors have a lot on their plate in 2026. But, the most important piece of being an athletic director is making the correct hire for your individual sports programs. Student-athletes are important, fundraising is important, etc, but bringing in the right people to lead your programs is at the top of the list. Makes your job easier if you land the correct hire or harder if you fail.
To do that, you have to have a headhunter mentality. If the athletic director is not a headhunter, then the associate athletic director or assistant must have that quality. Just like in recruiting. You can’t wait for people to just simply arrive on-campus.
Athletic directors should always have a short-list. If a chancellor or president walks into the athletic director’s and says, “what’s the plan with the recent basketball coaching change?”, in my opinion, the athletic director should have 3-5 names (short list) of people they’re already targeting. And if the athletic director doesn’t have names, they need to have a trustworthy (truthteller) they’re connected to that will be able to help assist. Using their network to help fill the blind spots.
Athletic directors and associate athletic directors run across coaches all the time. Hosting home events, attending conference tournaments, conferences, etc. They should constantly be adding and removing from their short list where they see fit.
Struggling on names?
What institution in our conference is always strong in sport x?
What institution in our state is always strong in sport y?
Why did sport z completely change their culture, roster size, wins in the last few years a state away?
What coaches have their hometown close to campus?
Are there current active coaches who are former alumni from your campus?
What is your process when something opens and is it consistent?
How are your committees being formed?
Not just randomly
These should be thoughtful
What other on-campus departments need to be involved?
Which alumni will partake in the process?
How do you go about choosing them?
Sport specific or largest donor?
Which players will partake in the process?
It is a mix of all classes
Upperclassmen only
Are you open to taking emails and phone calls on candidates' behalf?
Set rules just like telling parents you won’t talk to them about their kids playing time
Please, just please, do not do a dog and pony show.
What I mean by that is to waste people's time from campus, alumni, players' standpoint if you already know the direction you are going to go. This is a direct slap in the face to everyone involved. If it’s going to be an interview, make it legit. Don’t include an open forum and add three to four different meetings if you already know who you’re choosing. Be honest. That is what coaches want. They want as much transparency and clarity in this process. Be diligent. Follow-up and have your human resources department clued in.
How many phone/zoom interviews are you conducting?
How many candidates are you bringing to campus?
Are you bringing candidates back to campus multiple times?
Keep the format consistent!
Not that men’s basketball has an open forum, meetings with committee and athletic director, meeting with players, meeting with admissions, meeting with vice presidents, meeting with president and lunch while women’s soccer has a meeting with the athletic director, admissions, three coaches and two people from admissions
What are you valuing?
Winning? Graduation? Recruiting? Retention? Fundraising?
Don’t say all of it!
Who is the point person in making this decision?
Board
Chancellor/President
Vice President of Enrollment
Vice President of Advancement
Athletic Director
Associate Athletic Director
Committee
TOO MANY CHEFS IN THE KITCHEN!
Make it clear and keep the politics out of it!
Candidate Perspective
I’ve seen it all at the small college level.
Hirings made when an assistant was promoted on a traditionally strong program.
Assistants promoted on a traditionally weak program.
Interims who got the head job.
Interims who didn’t get the head job.
Coaches who got a job because they were connected to someone on the board.
Coaches who got a job because they were connected to someone in admissions.
Coaches who got a job because it won the press conference.
Head coaches who got jobs in the same league at a different institution.
Coaches who were hired made everyone scratch their heads on the outside.
The biggest thing to do within your search is try to figure out who the point person is. This doesn’t mean you’re going to get a truthful answer, but try to search that out.
What can you do as a candidate? I’ve always heard this from coaches about how they can better their chances to obtaining a job. Well to start, they’re only so many head jobs across all divisions in college athletics, regardless of sport.
In my time coaching college basketball over 12 years, I applied at five different institutions for head basketball jobs in four different leagues. I didn’t get the job at any of them. I basically threw in the towel in college coaching when I didn’t get the job at my alma mater. I knew if I couldn’t get the job at the place I grew up, who would take a chance on me?
It’s always difficult to show people on the outside what you can bring to their department and how you can lead a program. Here are just some tips I have jotted down that I think can help you get in the door to an interview process.
Network
Sounds cliche but the game hasn’t changed. All about who you know. As an assistant coach there are ample opportunities to network.
You have the opportunity to meet coaches and athletic directors all the time when attending games elsewhere. Know the people in their athletic department (website…It’s called Google). Strike up genuine conversations, even if it is a short five minute conversation. Ask about their background, thank them for helping and most importantly follow-up.
Working home athletic events is another opportunity to run into head coaches and assistant coaches from other programs. You know those assistants will be head coaches someday and also work in administration. Meet them and follow-up.
Reach out to coaches and athletic directors on articles you read about across the country. Regardless of level and sport. If you find an interesting article on their success, things they are doing, drop them a note. I did this many times in my career. You never know how these relationships can impact you down the road. If you develop real relationships with those in administration, they can help give you insight on what to expect in an interview process. Follow-up.
Build genuine relationships. Focus on knowing 50-60 coaches really well in your profession as opposed to knowing 500 as “hey, coach”. They have a first name. Get to know them!
Create a podcast and talk to people. I don’t care about your topic. I’m starting a second podcast soon just to talk to friends and family to learn more about them. Create a podcast and connect with people on the World Wide Web. This is free material for you to promote and show off your curiosity and consistency.
Share
Share articles with coaches you have developed trust and respect from. I think at times the profession seems guarded for whatever reason. In the past I’ve sent recruiting articles I read online to people I knew in the same league (we are all going through the same battle).
Be Persistent and Consistent
In anything you do, be persistent and consistent. It’s amazing how many times people will lack follow-up on things. Consistency can really separate you.
Daily Get Better Techniques
Journal
Put your daily thoughts and ideas down
Each day, practice, game, season has a hundred+ thoughts
Don’t let these important learning lessons go by
Great way in today's world with AI to summarize these
Interview Questions
Interview yourself in the car driving to recruiting events
Listen to podcast questions and think about how you would answer them
Create a Failure Resume
To talk through the adversity in your life and how you bounced back
Present
The one thing I never thought was true in life…yes, the more public speaking you do the better you get. I’m still not perfect but the more you do the better you get
Spend time on committees, helping at admission events, working camps, taking more on the floor duties on, etc
Build a Portfolio
I don’t know if this is a thing of the past. A coaching friend of mine at a D3 has been on some committees recently and said he is shocked no one is putting these together. It doesn’t have to be 15-20 pages but make it 10!
Show how organized you are. That you have a plan. That you have researched the school.
Don’t only create it, know it and own it!
If you know of jobs you really want and are just waiting for that puppy to open, put one together and include it with your resume and cover letter. If you are an outsider, this could be your chance to impress a hiring committee looking over resumes.
Interview Process
Are you going to have people call and email for you? How are you going to ask individuals?
Always have questions to ask. If they can’t answer or hesitate on questions, is it the right job?
Try to get other people's feelings around campus that aren’t involved in the interview process. Why do people work there? Where’s it going? Pain points?
What’s your plan if you don’t get the job and are an internal candidate?