John Gordon Groce (; born September 7, 1971) 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, currently the

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

for the Akron Zips men's basketball team. Prior to coaching for Akron, he was the head coach at

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

and

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

Coaching career

Player and assistant coach

Groce graduated from

Taylor University Taylor University is a Private university, private, Interdenominationalism, interdenominational, evangelical Christian university in Upland, Indiana. Founded in 1846, it is one of the oldest evangelical Christian universities in the United Stat ...

, an NAIA Division II school in

Upland, Indiana Upland (pronounced as "up-land") is a town in Jefferson Township, Grant County, Indiana, Jefferson Township, Grant County, Indiana, Grant County, Indiana, United States. The population was 3,821 at the 2020 census. It is the home of Taylor Univer ...

, in 1994 and played basketball for the school while he was there. Groce started his coaching career as an assistant with his alma mater,

, under Paul Patterson from 1993 to 1996. His next job was an assistant at

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 ...

under Herb Sendek from 1996 to 2000. He then moved on to

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

as an assistant to Thad Matta and was there just one season (2000–01). When Matta accepted the head coaching position at Xavier, Groce went with him and served as an assistant from 2001 to 2004, before moving again with Matta when he was named as the head coach of

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

. He served as an assistant from 2004 to 2008.

Ohio University

Groce was named the head coach at Ohio University on June 27, 2008, replacing Tim O'Shea, who resigned to take the head coach position at

Bryant University Bryant University is a private university in Smithfield, Rhode Island, United States. It has three colleges, the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Health and Behavioral Sciences, and the College of Business, and is accredited by the New E ...

. In his first year, the Bobcats finished 7–9 in

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

play and failed to qualify for postseason play. The team's overall record improved the following year, but the Bobcats finished with another 7–9 record. However, the Bobcats went on a run in the MAC tournament, winning the championship as the No. 9 seed. As a result, the Bobcats received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. They received a No. 14 seed in the Midwest region and Groce led the Bobcats to an upset win over 3-seeded Georgetown in the First Round. They then lost in the Second Round to

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

. In

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, the Bobcats increased their conference record to 9–7 and earned a bid to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT). A first round victory over

Marshall Marshall may refer to: Places Australia *Marshall, Victoria, a suburb of Geelong, Victoria ** Marshall railway station Canada * Marshall, Saskatchewan * The Marshall, a mountain in British Columbia Liberia * Marshall, Liberia Marshall Is ...

preceded a loss to East Tennessee State in the CIT Quarterfinals. In

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, Groce led the Bobcats to an 11–5 conference record and another MAC tournament championship. As the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, the Bobcats received a No. 13 seed. In the Tournament, Ohio defeated No. 4-seeded

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

and No. 12-seeded

South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

to earn a trip to the Sweet Sixteen, Ohio's first trip to the Sweet Sixteen since

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

. In the Sweet Sixteen, they pushed No. 1-seed

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

to overtime before losing 73–65. In four seasons at Ohio, Groce was 85–56 overall and 34–30 in Mid-American Conference games.

University of Illinois

Groce finalized negotiations to become the men's basketball head coach at the University of Illinois on March 28, 2012, after both

Shaka Smart Shaka Dingani Smart (born April 8, 1977) is an American men's college basketball coach and former college basketball player. He is the current head men's basketball coach at Marquette University. Smart rose to prominence in 2011 after leading Vi ...

and

Brad Stevens Bradley Kent Stevens (born October 22, 1976) is an American basketball executive and former coach who is currently the president of basketball operations and de facto general manager for the Boston Celtics. Born and raised in Zionsville, Indian ...

declined interest in the position. The Illini started 12–0 in

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

under Groce, the best start for a first-year coach in the team's modern era. The team won the 2012 Maui Invitational by defeating

in the championship game. Illinois finished the year 23–13, but with a losing conference record at 8–10. The Illini did receive a bid to the NCAA tournament advancing to the Third Round (formerly known as the Second Round) before losing to No. 2-seeded

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. During their 2014 season, Illinois' success in the month of November improved to 21–0 under Groce. Until losing five non-conference games in the 2015–16 season, Illinois was the only program in the nation with an undefeated November record, dating back to 2011. The Illini would slip however, finishing 20–15, 7–11 in Big Ten play and failing to make the NCAA tournament. They did receive a bid to the NIT advancing to the second round. The Illini continued to struggle in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, finishing 19–14, 9–9 and again failing to make the NCAA tournament. They did receive a bid to the NIT where they lost in the first round. Before the end of their 2016 season, new Illinois AD Josh Whitman gave Groce a vote of confidence, praising his leadership and stating that "John Groce is going to continue to be our basketball coach." However, the Illini finished the season 15–19, 5–13. From 2013 to 2016, Groce reversed Illinois' prior four-game

losing streak In sports, a losing streak (a.k.a. a cold streak, losing skid, slide, schneid, or losing Slump (sports), slump) is an uninterrupted string of contests (games, matches, etc.) lost by a team or individual. A losing streak is thus the opposite of a ...

in the annual Braggin' Rights interstate rivalry against

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

by winning the contest for four straight seasons. The Illini fared better in 2017, finishing 20–15, 8–10. The team did win four in a row toward the end of the season leading to talks of an NCAA tournament bid, but a loss at Rutgers in the final regular season game likely ended their Tournament hopes. On March 11, 2017, Groce was relieved of his duties, two days after the Illini lost its Big Ten tournament opening-round game to

. Following his dismissal, the Illini advanced to the NIT quarterfinals before losing to UCF. He was eventually replaced by

Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

head coach Brad Underwood.

University of Akron

Following his dismissal from Illinois, Groce was hired on April 5, 2017, to become the new head coach of the Akron Zips. In 2020, Groce's Zips won the MAC regular season title, but were not able to participate in the postseason due to the COVID pandemic. In 2022, the Zips won the MAC Tournament Championship against their rival, Kent State. He took the Zips to the 2022 NCAA Tournament as a 13 seed where they lost in the First Round to 4th seeded UCLA. In 2023, Groce led his team to the MAC Championship Semifinal, but were unable to make consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament. In 2024, Groce's Zips won the MAC Tournament Championship, also against Kent State, and clinched Akron's 6th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. They entered as a 14 seed and lost their first round matchup against 3 seed Creighton. In 2025 they won the

MAC Mac or MAC may refer to: Common meanings * Mac (computer), a line of personal computers made by Apple Inc. * Mackintosh, a raincoat made of rubberized cloth * Mac, a prefix to surnames derived from Gaelic languages * McIntosh (apple), a Canadi ...

and the MAC tournament As a 13 seed, they lost their first round matchup in the NCAA tournament match to

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

Head coaching record

Personal life

Groce's brother is Travis Steele, the current head coach of Miami (OH).

References

External links