The John Beilein File

Less then 24 hours after being offered the Michigan head coaching job, John Beilein has reportedly agreed to be the next headman in Ann Arbor. After five years as the head coach at West Virginia, Beilein will be counted on to revive the fallen Wolverine program. Here is our first look at Michigan’s new coach.

Who exactly is John Beilein? After taking over for long-time Mountaineers coach Gale Catlett, Beilein was responsible for turning around a struggling program that won just eight games the previous season. In his first year as coach, the Mountaineers improved their record to 14-15, including a win over No. 8-ranked Florida.

In his second season, Beilein brought West Virginia back to the postseason with a record of 17-14 and a birth in the NIT tournament.

West Virginia made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 1998 season in his third year in Morgantown. With a record of 24-11, West Virginia built a resume which included wins over No. 20 George Washington, No. 17 NC State, No. 16 Pittsburgh (twice), No. 7 Boston College and No. 19 Villanova before falling to Syracuse in the Big East Tournament. In the NCAA Tournament, the Mountaineers defeated No. 5 Wake Forest and No. 24 Texas Tech before falling to Louisville in the Elite 8.

Starting the season ranked for the first time during his tenure at West Virginia, Beilein’s team was expected to do good things in 2006. After stumbling to a 2-3 start out of the blocks, WVU rebounded to churn out 12 straight wins. Over the month and a half long streak, Beilein’s club defeated No. 7 Oklahoma, No. 3 Villanova and No. 18 UCLA, all on the road. His 2006 team finished with a record of 20-10 entering the NCAA Tournament, and made it to the Sweet 16 before being eliminated by Texas 74-71.

West Virginia missed in the NCAA Tournament in 2007, but, with a record of 22-9 through Big East Tournament play, Beilein still claimed an NIT title for West Virginia. WVU recorded key wins over No. 12 UConn and No. 2 UCLA during the 2007 season.

Before coming to West Virginia, Beilein built the Richmond Spiders program up for he success it’s seen today. After guiding the program to the NCAA Tournament in his first season, Beilein reached the 100 win plateau faster than any other coach in Richmond history in just five seasons.

Prior to Richmond, Beilein has also guided Canisius and LeMoyne to the NCAA Tournament. His 551 wins place him among the top 25 winning coaches in college basketball.