Brad Underwood waited 26 years for a Division I job. Now in Year 39, he has Illinois in Final Four

Illinois’ Brad Underwood coached for 26 years before landing his first Division I head coaching job.

Now in Year 39, the well-traveled 62-year-old finally is heading to the Final Four, where the Fighting Illini meet UConn.

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He’s doing it in what he’s long referred to as his dream job. In 2013 while in that first DI head coaching job at Stephen F. Austin, he told his administrative assistant about his ambition to coach the Fighting Illini one day. And she wrote it down.

When he was named Illinois coach in 2017, she presented him with that meaningful piece of paper containing his intention to lead this team.

In the place he always wanted to be, Underwood has the Fighting Illini in the Final Four for the first time since 2005, trying to bring home a first national title.

“I’ve been fortunate to be around great mentors, great coaches,” he said. “I just bided my time, found a group that’s magical. We’re living the dream.”

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Though he’s living the dream now, it came only after decades of toiling in relative obscurity.

There were four years at Dodge City Community College starting in 1988 where he was not only the coach but the team’s bus driver for road games. Then came 10 years as an assistant for Jim Kerwin at Western Illinois, where he was “not making very much money and raising three kids and literally being gone five days a week.”

The next stop was Daytona Beach Community College from 2003-06, which also was not the most glamorous job but had a nice perk.

“It was an incredible place to help raise our kids, going to the beach every weekend,” he said. “And I loved coaching ball in junior college.”

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After that he worked as an assistant, first for Bob Huggins followed by Frank Martin, at Kansas State from 2006-12. He followed Martin to South Carolina, where he spent one season before landing at Stephen F. Austin.

“I’ve been blessed along the way because I’ve worked for nothing but winners for head coaches and…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/brad-underwood-waited-26-years-184759682.html

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Publish date : 2026-03-31 18:47:00

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