Steven Cornell Cleveland (born February 4, 1952) is a former American college basketball coach. He had been men's head basketball head coach at Fresno City College, BYU, and Fresno State.

Steve Cleveland
Biographical details
Born (1952-02-04) February 4, 1952 (age 72)
Los Angeles County, California, U.S.
Playing career
1970–1971,
1973–1974
Fresno CC
1974–1976UC Irvine
Position(s)Forward
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1980–1990Clovis West HS
1990–1997Fresno CC
1997–2005BYU
2005–2011Fresno State
Head coaching record
Overall230–206 (.528) (college)
157–77 (.671) (junior college)
180–70 (.720) (high school)
Tournaments0–3 (NCAA)
3–3 (NIT)
9–7 (CCCAA)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Awards
  • MWC Coach of the Year (2003)

Early life and education edit

Cleveland was born in Los Angeles County and raised in Fresno, California.[1] He attended Herbert Hoover High School in Fresno, then began his college basketball career at Fresno City College before going on a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to England from 1971 to 1973. Cleveland returned to Fresno City College in the 1973–74 season, after which he was named the team's Most Outstanding Player and transferred to UC Irvine.[1] At UC Irvine, Cleveland played at forward. He averaged 8.8 points and 4.8 rebounds as a junior in 1974–75[2] and 15.0 points and 5.5 rebounds as a senior in 1975–76.[3] Cleveland graduated from UC Irvine with a bachelor's degree in social science in 1976 and later completed a master's in education administration from Fresno Pacific University in 1979.[4]

Coaching career edit

High school and junior college edit

From 1980 to 1990, Cleveland was varsity boys' basketball head coach at Clovis West High School and went 180–70 in those ten seasons.[4] At Clovis West, Cleveland also taught U.S. government and economics.[5] Cleveland returned to Fresno City College to be men's basketball head coach. From 1990 to 1997, Cleveland went 157–77 with a Central Valley Conference championship in 1997 and CCCAA Tournament appearances every year. Among players he coached at Fresno City were Rafer Alston, who would go on to play in the NBA.[1]

BYU edit

Cleveland moved up to the major college level in 1997 as head coach at BYU. He inherited a team that had just suffered a 1–25 season, the worst in school history.

In his first season, BYU finished 9–21 in 1997–98. BYU improved to 22–11 in 1999–2000, BYU's first season in the Mountain West Conference (MW) and made the NIT quarterfinals.[4] The following season, BYU won the MW Tournament after splitting the regular season title and made the NCAA tournament. BYU then made the 2002 NIT and NCAA Tournaments of 2003 and 2004 and again was MW co-champion in 2003. The MW also awarded Cleveland with Coach of the Year honors in 2003. BYU fell to 9–21 in 2004–05, Cleveland's final season.[4]

Fresno State edit

On April 9, 2005, Fresno State hired Cleveland as men's basketball head coach.[6][7] Cleveland's hiring followed the resignation of previous head coach Ray Lopes. In 2006, due to recruiting violations under Lopes's watch, the NCAA issued a show-cause penalty to Lopes and placed Fresno State men's basketball on five years of probation.[8] Also, Cleveland inherited a program whose Academic Progress Rate (APR) was 611, the worst in the nation.[9]

Cleveland went 92–98 in six seasons at Fresno State.[9] In his first two seasons, Fresno State finished 8–8 and 10–6 in Western Athletic Conference (WAC) play, and Fresno State's only postseason appearance in his tenure was in the NIT.[4] The 2006–07 team also featured Dominic McGuire, a transfer from Cal who became a second-round 2007 NBA draft pick. The team APR also improved to 928 by the end of his tenure.[9]

Post-coaching career edit

On March 17, 2011, Cleveland stepped down from coaching to assume an administrative post in the Fresno State athletic department.[9] Later that year, Cleveland took a position as an analyst for BYUtv Sports.[10]

In 2013, he began a three-year term as a mission president for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Indiana Indianapolis Mission.[11]

Head coaching record edit

Junior college edit

Source:[1]

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Fresno City Rams (Central Valley Conference) (1990–1997)
1990–91 Fresno City 19–14 4–8 5th CCCAA Regional
1991–92 Fresno City 24–10 8–4 2nd CCCAA Regional
1992–93 Fresno City 17–15 5–7 4th CCCAA Regional
1993–94 Fresno City 18–13 7–5 4th CCCAA Regional
1994–95 Fresno City 26–11 9–5 4th CCCAA Elite Eight
1995–96 Fresno City 22–10 9–5 2nd CCCAA Regional
1996–97 Fresno City 31–4 13–1 1st CCCAA Final Four
Fresno City: 157–77 (.671) 55–35 (.611)
Total: 157–77 (.671)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

College edit

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
BYU Cougars (Western Athletic Conference) (1997–1999)
1997–98 BYU 9–21 4–10 6th (Mountain)
1998–99 BYU 12–16 6–8 5th (Pacific)
BYU Cougars (Mountain West Conference) (1999–2005)
1999–00 BYU 22–11 7–7 6th NIT Quarterfinals
2000–01 BYU 24–9 10–4 T–1st NCAA Division I First Round
2001–02 BYU 18–12 7–7 T–4th NIT Second Round
2002–03 BYU 23–9 11–3 T–1st NCAA Division I First Round
2003–04 BYU 21–9 10–4 2nd NCAA Division I First Round
2004–05 BYU 9–21 3–11 T–7th
BYU: 138–108 (.561) 58–54 (.518)
Fresno State Bulldogs (Western Athletic Conference) (2005–2011)
2005–06 Fresno State 15–13 8–8 6th
2006–07 Fresno State 22–10 10–6 3rd NIT First Round
2007–08 Fresno State 13–19 5–11 T–6th
2008–09 Fresno State 13–21 3–13 9th
2009–10 Fresno State 15–18 7–9 5th
2010–11 Fresno State 14–17 6–10 7th
Fresno State: 92–98 (.484) 39–57 (.406)
Total: 230–206 (.528)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d "Steve Cleveland". BYU. Archived from the original on December 13, 2004.
  2. ^ Final 1975 cumulative basketball statistics report: UC Irvine
  3. ^ Final 1976 Cumulative Basketball Statistics Report: UC Irvine
  4. ^ a b c d e "Steve Cleveland". Fresno Stat. Archived from the original on July 22, 2011.
  5. ^ Rock, Brad (February 7, 1998). "BYU coach says his destiny was to be a teacher". Deseret News. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  6. ^ "Cleveland Hired to Rebuild Fresno State". Associated Press. April 9, 2005. Archived from the original on April 12, 2005. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  7. ^ Boogaard, Andy (April 11, 2005). "Cleveland checks scenario; New Bulldogs basketball coach is facing a recruiting quandary". Fresno Bee. Archived from the original on April 14, 2005. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  8. ^ "NCAA Penalizes Fresno State Basketball". Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 4, 2006. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  9. ^ a b c d Lyght, Daniel (March 17, 2011). "Cleveland out as Fresno State basketball coach". Fresno Bee. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  10. ^ Cleveland, Steve (December 6, 2011). "Coach Cleve joins the BYUtv Sports team". BYU TV. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  11. ^ Call, Jeff (December 16, 2013). "BYU basketball: Former Cougar basketball coach Steve Cleveland overseeing new 'team'". Deseret News. Retrieved July 9, 2016.