Andy Kennedy (born March 13, 1968) is an American

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

coach who is the head coach of the

UAB Blazers men's basketball The UAB Blazers men's basketball team represents the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in NCAA Division I men's college basketball, with the 2023–24 season being the Blazers' first as members of the American Athletic Conference. The Blaz ...

team. He was head men's basketball coach at the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

(Ole Miss) from 2006 to 2018. Kennedy was a player in high school at both Winston Academy and Louisville High School. He was a 1986 ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

'' All-American and he went on to play for

North Carolina State North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina sy ...

and the

University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Founded in 1969 and part of the University of Alabama System, UAB has grown to be the state's largest employer, with more than ...

(UAB). On March 20, 2020, he was announced as the seventh head coach of UAB.

Playing career

College

Kennedy, a 6'7" forward, was a 1986 ''Parade'' All-American, as well as the Mississippi Player of the Year at Louisville High School. He started his collegiate career at North Carolina State where he was a member of

Jim Valvano James Thomas Anthony Valvano (March 10, 1946 – April 28, 1993), nicknamed Jimmy V, was an American college basketball player, coach, and broadcaster. Valvano had a successful coaching career with multiple schools, culminating at NC State. Whi ...

's 1987

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

championship team. Following his freshman season, Kennedy transferred to UAB where he played under another legendary coach,

Gene Bartow Bobby Gene Bartow (August 18, 1930 January 3, 2012) was an American men's college basketball coach. The Browning, Missouri, native coached 36 years at six universities after coaching two high schools in Missouri for six years. In 1972 Bartow coa ...

. From 1988 to 1991, Kennedy was a two-time all-conference performer that led the Sun Belt Conference in scoring at 21.8 points per game in 1991. Kennedy finished his UAB career as the program's second all-time leading scorer with 1,787 points. Kennedy still holds numerous school and conference records. On 2022 October 7 Kennedy was inducted into the UAB Sports Hall of Fame. He became just the 4th men's player selected.

Professional

After graduation, Kennedy played briefly for the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

at guard. He later began a three-year professional career abroad, playing in

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, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. Chronic knee problems brought his career to an early end. He had his second ACL tear and subsequently his fifth and final knee operation while playing in Puerto Rico and chose to retire as a player and transition into coaching.

Professional career

Early years

Kennedy's coaching career began as an assistant for the

University of South Alabama The University of South Alabama (USA) is a public research university in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in May 1963 and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alaba ...

during the 1994–95 season. Since then he has also served as an assistant coach at UAB from 1996 to 2001 and the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

from 2001 to 2005. Kennedy's first head coaching position came during the 2005–06 season when he was named interim head coach for Cincinnati after

Bob Huggins Robert Edward Huggins (born September 21, 1953), nicknamed "Huggy Bear", is an American college basketball coach. He was the head coach at Walsh, Akron, Cincinnati, Kansas State, and West Virginia. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial ...

resigned. He led the Bearcats to a 21–13 record and an NIT appearance that year. He was named the NY Post Big East Coach of the Year. On March 23, 2006 he was named as the head coach of

Ole Miss OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

Ole Miss

In his first year as head coach of Ole Miss, Kennedy led the Rebels to a 21–13 overall record and 8–8 in conference play record to become co-champions of the Southeastern Conference Western division. The Rebels made it to the semi-finals of the SEC tournament, but fell to the eventual champions,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. The Rebels then received an NIT berth and won the first round against

Appalachian State Appalachian State University (), or App State, is a public research university in Boone, North Carolina, United States. It was founded as a teachers' college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dou ...

but fell to the eventual runners-up, Clemson. In December 2008, Kennedy was arrested in Cincinnati after he allegedly punched and shouted racial slurs at a taxicab driver. He was charged with misdemeanor assault and ultimately plead guilty to disorderly conduct. In 2013 he led Ole Miss to its first NCAA tournament appearance in over a decade, and his first appearance as a head coach. The 12-seed Rebels upset

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

in the round of 64 before losing to 13-seed La Salle. Kennedy's Rebels earned another NCAA tournament bid in 2015, defeating BYU in the First Four and losing to Xavier in the round of 64. On February 12, 2018, Kennedy initially announced that he and Ole Miss had agreed to part ways following the 2017–18 season. However, Kennedy resigned effective immediately on February 18, 2018. In his 12 seasons at Ole Miss, Kennedy became the program's all-time wins leader, as well as the only head coach since World War II to finish with a winning record in SEC play. He had won one conference tournament championship, two division championships, and was twice named SEC Coach of the Year.

Broadcasting

In 2018, Kennedy agreed to a deal with the SEC Network to become a college basketball analyst across the ESPN family of networks. During the 2018–2019 and 2019–2020 seasons, Kennedy was featured as an in-game color analyst, studio analyst, and sideline reporter covering college basketball.

UAB

After 2 years working with ESPN, on March 20, 2020, Kennedy was hired as the head coach at

UAB UAB may stand for: *Uždaroji akcinė bendrovė, a type of limited liability company in Lithuania Organizations *Apostolic United Brethren, polygamist Mormon fundamentalist church *University of Alabama at Birmingham, a public research university ...

, replacing

Robert Ehsan Robert Hassan Ehsan ( ; born May 3, 1982) is an American college basketball coach who is currently the head coach for the UIC Flames men's basketball, UIC Flames. From 2016–2020, he was the head men's basketball coach at the University of Alaba ...

. In his

first year A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational in ...

Kennedy led the Blazers to a 22–7 record. The 22 wins were the most by a first year head coach in the NCAA and the most wins for UAB since 2016. Under Kennedy's guide, UAB finished with their highest NET ranking (83) in program history and the program's highest Kenpom ranking (102) since 2011. The Blazers were led by their defense, as they finished with the most conference wins (13) in Conference USA as well as the most series sweeps. UAB finished 4th in the country in scoring defense, and the 4th best turnover margin. For the first time in school history, UAB had 2 members selected to the conference All-Defense team. Kennedy's first year leading his alma mater saw UAB reach its then-4th highest winning percentage in program history, and be one of 17 programs in America with at least 22 wins and 7 or fewer losses. In 2021-22, Kennedy added transfer Jordan Walker in route to UAB's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2015. The Blazers finished with a record of 27-8, a then-school record for wins in a single season. Kennedy's squad finished 49th in the NET ranking 51 in Kenpom ranking The Blazers ranked 4th nationally in steals and 6th in scoring offense. UAB had two players selected All-Conference USA and one selected to the All-Defense team. Walker was also named Conference USA Player of the Year. Kennedy's 3rd season added multiple major program accomplishments. UAB finished the campaign with a record of 29-10, a new UAB single-season record for wins (29). Kennedy led the Blazers to their second straight post-season with an appearance in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

of the NIT, their first since 2016, and UAB's first ever appearance in the final of a post-season tournament. The Blazers defeated

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

Members Vanderbilt,

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, and

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, UAB's first win in Bartow Arena vs a Power 5 opponent since 2013, and the 1st time in history winning three games vs the SEC in the same season. UAB finished the season ranked 47 in KenPom, the programs highest mark since 2004, and Jordan Walker and Trey Jemison each were named All-Conference USA with Jemison also being named to the All-Defensive team. The Blazers also finished 2nd nationally in rebounding. 2023-24 was Kennedy fourth and UAB's first season in the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...

. The Blazers finished the year with a record of 23-12, winning the AAC tournament championship, and advancing to their 2nd NCAA Tournament in 3 seasons, and 3rd straight post-season appearance. Kennedy also became the fastest coach in UAB program history to reach the 100-win milestone (136 games). The Blazers defeated

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

, their first win against a

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

opponent since 2006. UAB also defeated two nationally ranked opponents for the first time since 2010. Junior forward

Yaxel Lendeborg Yaxel Okari Lendeborg (born September 30, 2002) is an American-Dominican college basketball player for the Michigan Wolverines of the Big Ten Conference. He previously played for the Arizona Western Matadors and the UAB Blazers Early life Lendeb ...

was named First-Team all-AAC and the conference Defensive Player of the Year, the first time UAB has had at least one first team selection three consecutive years since 2012. Kennedy's 5th Season saw a fourth consecutive appearance in both the conference tournament final, and the postseason. UAB finished with a record of 24-13, and finishing their season in the NIT Quarterfinals. It was the 1st time in UAB history to win 20 or more games in 5 consecutive seasons, and 23 or more games in four straight campaigns. The Blazers' 4th consecutive postseason was its first since 2007-11, and 125 wins is the winningest 5-year period in UAB history. Yaxel Lendeborg repeated as both First-Team all-AAC and AAC Defensive Player of the Year. Alejandro Vasquez was named Second-Team all-AAC. Kennedy also become the Blazers' 2nd winningest all-time coach after the AAC Tournament semifinal win over North Texas.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Andy 1968 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Greece American expatriate basketball people in the Netherlands American expatriate basketball people in Spain American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Mississippi Basketball players from Mississippi Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball coaches College men's basketball head coaches in the United States NC State Wolfpack men's basketball players Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball coaches Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Louisville, Mississippi South Alabama Jaguars men's basketball coaches UAB Blazers men's basketball coaches UAB Blazers men's basketball players 20th-century American sportsmen