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THE KEITH DAMBROT FILE
Collegiate Head Coaching Record Year-By-Year:
Year School Record Notable
1984-85 Tiffin 16-14 • 24 wins in 1985-86 was single-season school record
1985-86 Tiffin 24-9
Tiffin Totals (two seasons) 40-23
1989-90 Ashland 22-8 • Won school’s first-ever and regional championship
1990-91 Ashland 26-5
Ashland Totals (two seasons) 48-13
1991-92 Central Michigan 8-18 • 1992 recruiting class ranked 15th nationally
1992-93 Central Michigan 12-16
CMU Totals (two seasons) 20-34
2004-05 Akron 19-10 • UA’s most wins since 1988-89
2005-06 Akron 23-10 • NIT Second Round
2006-07 Akron 26-7 • MAC East Division Champions
2007-08 Akron 24-11 • NIT Second Round
2008-09 Akron 23-13 • NCAA Tournament First Round
Akron Totals (five seasons) 115-51 (.693)
Career Totals (11 seasons) 223-121 (.648)
High School Head Coaching Record Year-By-Year:
69-10 in three seasons (at Akron’s St. Vincent-St. Mary HS)
• Two Ohio state high school titles
Year Record Notable
1998-99 16-9 • Regional Runner-Up
1999-00 27-0 • State Champions (LeBron James freshman year)
2000-01 26-1 • State Champions (LeBron James sophomore year)
Totals 69-10 (.873)
Birthdate: Oct. 26, 1958
Education: 1982 – B.S. degree from Akron; 1984 – M.B.A degree from Akron
Collegiate Playing Career: 1979-82 – Baseball (Akron)
High School: Firestone High School (Akron)
Family: Married to Donna Dambrot; Children - Alysse (18) and Rob (15)
Keith Dambrot’s motivation for success is different than most head coaches at the Division I level. His commitment to grow Akron basketball into one of the top mid-majors in the nation doesn’t stem from thoughts of career stepping stone, but instead from allegiance to his hometown and alma mater.
A name synonymous with success in the northeast Ohio basketball community, Dambrot was elevated to head coach on March 10, 2004. He served as an assistant on the UA staff for the three seasons prior.
Dambrot, 51, wasted no time putting his stamp on the program and has led Akron to the postseason in back-to-back and three of the last four seasons – participating in the NCAA Tournament in 2009 and the National Invitation Tournament in 2008 and 2006. Akron has won 20-plus games in each of the last four years, and posted 19 victories in Dambrot’s first season (2004-05). The Zips have won at least 23 games in each of the last four seasons – a feat unmatched in program history.
UA’s appearance in last season’s NCAA Tournament was their first in 23 years and second in the program’s Division I era (began in the 1980-81 season). Additionally, Akron has competed in the Mid-American Conference Tournament title game in each of the last three years and is just the fourth league school to have appeared in at least three-straight finals (Eastern Michigan 1995-98, Miami (Ohio) 1984-87 and 1997-2001, Kent State 2001-04).
In his five seasons in charge of the program, Akron has amassed a 115-51 (.693) overall record, including a 59-25 mark in MAC play and a 64-8 tally in home games (37-5 in MAC play at home). Those 115 victories are the most by a MAC team and rank as the 28th-highest nationally during that five-season span. In 11 seasons as a collegiate head coach he owns a 223-121 (.648) overall record.
Named the 2009 Best Mid-Major Coach by Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports, Dambrot’s time at UA has been highlighted by mentoring a total of 15 All-MAC honorees and six MAC All-Tournament selections. Also during his watch, six players have been added to the school’s 1,000-point scorer’s list and he coached Akron’s all-time assists leader (Dru Joyce, 503), all-time blocked shots leader (Romeo Travis, 165) and all-time winningest player (Nate Linhart, 96 victories over a four-season span). Linhart also played in a school-record 134 career games (from 2006-09).
The list of accolades received by UA players over the last five seasons also include Romeo Travis being named Honorable Mention All-America (the program’s first such honoree since 1989) and MAC Player of the Year (first in program history) in 2007, Cedrick Middleton (2007) and Brett McKnight (2009) earning MAC Sixth Man of the Year (only two honors of that kind in program history), and Nate Linhart being selected as the 2009 MAC Defensive Player of the Year and league tournament MVP.
Increased National Exposure:
The University has increased its national exposure under Dambrot. Throughout his tenure, the Zips have gained the attention of the national pollsters, receiving votes in the Associated Press poll on three separate occasions in 2007-08, after closing out the 2006-07 campaign on the “others receiving votes” listing in the final AP and ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls. Additionally, UA has closed out each of the last four campaigns ranked in the final CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 – finishing 25th in 2008-09, 21st in 2007-08, 10th in 2006-07 and 23rd in 2005-06. UA has peaked as high as No. 5 in the mid-major poll, doing so in the Jan. 28, 2008 edition.
Also under Dambrot, Akron has played in a number of nationally-televised games and has been recognized by numerous national publications. The program has also not been afraid to compete against teams from the ACC, Big East, SEC, Pac-10, A-10 and WAC.
With Dambrot in charge, the program tallied its first-ever victories over schools from the Atlantic Coast Conference (at Florida State in the 2008 NIT) and Southeastern Conference (versus Mississippi State during the 2005-06 regular season at the San Juan Shootout in Puerto Rico).
The Dambrot Era, Year-By-Year:
After guiding the Zips to a 19-10 record in the 2004-05 season, the program finished the 2005-06 campaign with a 23-10 mark, what was at the time the most wins in the program’s Division I era, and also notched the school’s first D-I postseason victory – an 80-73 overtime win at Temple in the opening round of the NIT. UA also posted a 13-0 mark at Rhodes Arena that year, and extended its win streak at home to 18 games, which ranked as the third-longest nationally at the time.
In 2006-07, Dambrot led Akron to a school-record tying 26-7 mark (1971-72 team went 26-5) and its first MAC East Division title since 1998. Additionally, the program made its first-ever appearance in the MAC tournament championship game, falling 53-52 on a 3-point buzzer beater to Miami (Ohio). The Zips also ran their win streak at home to 21 games, with a 73-71 loss to top-25 ranked Nevada blemishing what was the fourth best streak nationally at the time. UA ended the campaign 13-1 at Rhodes Arena.
The Zips also compiled a long list of individual accolades in 2006-07, several of which were milestones for the program. Senior forward Romeo Travis capped off his career by being selected as an Honorable Mention All-American by the Associated Press – the first Zips cager to do so since 1989. Travis was also honored as the MAC Player of the Year, the first in the history of the UA program, and was named to the all-league first team, MAC All-Tournament Team and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District 10 Second Team for the second-straight season.
Also in 2006-07, Dru Joyce earned a spot on the conference’s second team, while Cedrick Middleton was awarded the MAC’s Sixth Man-of-the-Year accolade (the first UA player to earn that) and Jeremiah Wood was named to the MAC All-Tournament Team.
Travis ended his UA career ranked seventh on the school-scoring chart, with 1,491 points (122 games). He is also the program’s all-time blocked shots leader (165). Joyce owns the program record for career assists (503), ranks third in games played (123) and finished with 1,046 career points.
In 2007-08, Dambrot and the Zips provided their fan base with another year filled with excitement and milestones, ending the season with a 24-11 record and an 11-5 finish in league play. UA again advanced to the MAC tournament title game, falling to neighborhood rival Kent State. For the second time in three seasons, the Zips made their way to the second round of the NIT – this time knocking off Florida State 65-60 in OT in the opening round. That was the program’s first-ever victory over a school from the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Zips lost 68-63 to eventual NIT runner-up Massachusetts in the second round.
Akron ended the 2007-08 season with three players earning All-MAC recognition, as Jeremiah Wood was named second team, Nick Dials honorable mention and Steve McNees to the all-freshman list. Wood was also selected for the MAC All-Tournament team for the second-consecutive year. Additionally, the squad featured three 1,000-point scorers, as Wood finished with 1,151, Middleton with 1,120 and Dials with 1,087. Wood rounded out his career among the program’s top-10 rebounders, while Dials earned that distinction in the assists category and Middleton in the steals column.
Dambrot’s 2008-09 squad went 23-13 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, after winning its first-ever MAC Tournament championship. The Zips earned a No. 13 seed in the tourney and fell to Gonzaga in the first round, 77-64, after leading with just over nine minutes to play. Competing in 36 overall games, it was the longest season in program history, surpassing the 35 contests during the 2007-08 campaign.
UA’s season was also highlighted by having four players earn All-MAC recognition, with Brett McKnight being named to the league’s second team, Nate Linhart and Chris McKnight to the honorable mention squad, and Anthony "Humpty" Hitchens to the all-freshman list. Linhart and Brett McKnight were also named the conference’s defensive- and sixth-man-of-the-year award winners, respectively, and along with Steve McNees were selected to the MAC All-Tournament Team. Linhart was also the tournament’s MVP and finished his collegiate career with 1,023 points in a school-record 134 games played (106 career starts).
An Akron Native:
An Akron native, Dambrot spent his formative years roaming the UA campus and attending basketball games in the program’s old gymnasium, Memorial Hall (still stands next door to Rhodes Arena).
This is also the community that educated him. Four years at nearby Firestone High School provided the foundation for a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University.
Dambrot’s late mother, Faye, was a trend-setting professor at the University, teaching in the psychology department from 1966-89, and being instrumental in forming the women’s studies program. Calling her a heralded member of the faculty and community is an understatement.
In recent years, Dambrot became known as the man responsible for bringing the modest Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School boy’s basketball team into the national spotlight. As head coach of the Fighting Irish, his teams won a pair of state championships (2000 and 2001). A key component to those squads was NBA superstar LeBron James (his freshman and sophomore seasons).
The story, according to some, labels Dambrot as the man responsible for helping develop James. At the age of 13, the future NBA MVP and All-Star participated in $1 clinics Dambrot conducted at the local Jewish Community Center.
James is another example of someone who takes his connection to the Akron community to heart, and is a regular at games in UA’s Rhodes Arena and at off-season team workouts.
It’s building off experiences like that, which motivate this head coach, who has worked as hard as any in the nation since assuming his new post.
The University’s decision makers seem keyed into Dambrot’s unique situation, one that seems to provide good perspective of this geographic region along with a sound formula for success.
"We have high expectations for every aspect of our institution, including intercollegiate athletics," University President Dr. Luis M. Proenza said. "Much like the University, Keith Dambrot has a long history with and extensive connections in northeast Ohio."
Dambrot began his assistant coaching tenure at UA in June 2001 following three seasons at Akron’s St. Vincent-St. Mary High. In that time he led the school to a 69-10 record, including a 27-0 mark in 1999-2000. In his final two seasons at the school, the Irish were state champions and garnered national rankings by USA Today.
The aforementioned Dru Joyce and Romeo Travis were under his tutelage at SVSM and Dambrot played an important role in bringing them into the Zips program. Dambrot was also instrumental in the signing of local products Matt Futch, who attended nearby Buchtel HS, and the previously mentioned Jeremiah Wood, a graduate of Akron’s Central-Hower High School.
The 21st head coach in UA’s history, Dambrot was also pivotal in tracking Akron native Derrick Tarver through the California junior college ranks – aiding in his transfer to UA for the 2002-03 season. Tarver, a graduate of Akron’s Buchtel HS, was the 2003-04 MAC scoring champion, averaging 22.7 points-per-game, and earned a spot on the all-league second team.
Career Coaching Experience:
Dambrot received his M.B.A from Akron in 1984 while serving as a graduate assistant under former men’s basketball coach Bob Rupert.
After two years as a graduate assistant, he moved up to a full-time role with the Zips for one season, before taking the head coaching job at Tiffin. In his second season there (1985-86), he led the Dragons to the most single-season wins in school history (24).
In 1986, he made his first venture into the MAC, starting a three-year run as an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan and worked alongside then head coach Ben Braun (went on to serve as head coach at California and is now at Rice). In 1988, the Hurons won their first-ever MAC championship and made their first NCAA Tournament appearance.
Dambrot returned to northeast Ohio in 1989 as head coach at Ashland, where, in two years, he led the Eagles to a 48-13 overall mark, two final national rankings and their first-ever conference and regional championships.
In 1991 he returned to the MAC and took on his first Division I head coaching role at Central Michigan. His 1992 recruiting class was ranked 15th in the nation by Hoop Scoop Magazine and he led the Chippewas to a 20-34 record in his two seasons.
Personal:
A former three-year starter, team captain and team MVP for the Zips’ baseball team (played third base), Dambrot graduated from the University with a bachelor’s of science degree in management in 1982.
In his time on the UA baseball diamond, Dambrot set the school’s all-time record for getting hit by a pitch, coming in the line of fire 28 times (that record has since been surpassed).
Dambrot’s blood is rich with basketball tradition. His uncle, Irwin Dambrot, played for the 1950 City College of New York (CCNY) squad, which is the only school to win both the NCAA Tournament and NIT in the same season. Irwin was the MVP of the NCAA Tournament that season and the No. 1 draft pick (selected seventh overall) by the New York Knicks that same year.
Dambrot’s father, Sid, starred at Duquesne during the 1952, '53 and '54 seasons. The Dukes competed in the NCAA Tournament and the NIT in '52, and the NIT in the '53 and '54 campaigns.
Dambrot resides in Fairlawn with his wife, Donna. The couple have two children, Alysse (18) and Rob (15). Alysse is in her freshman year of undergraduate studies at UA.
Dambrot was given a new seven-year contract in April 2007 and received an additional two years in June 2009, keeping him at the helm of the program through the 2015-16 season.
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