Jim Baron

James Edward Baron (born March 20, 1954) is a retired American college basketball coach. He previously held the position of head coach at Saint Francis University, St. Bonaventure University, the University of Rhode Island and Canisius College.

Playing career Baron lettered in basketball for four years (1973 to 1977) at St. Bonaventure University and helped St. Bonaventure win the 1977 National Invitation Tournament as a senior. Baron graduated from St. Bonaventure with a degree in physical education in 1977 and later earned a master's degree in counseling from the same institution in 1988.

Coaching career In 1977, Baron began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Aquinas Institute in Rochester, New York. The following year, Baron became an assistant coach at NCAA Division III University of Rochester. Baron moved up to Division I as an assistant for Loyola College in Maryland for the 1979–80 season. In 1980, Baron returned to his alma mater as assistant coach for St. Bonaventure.

Baron first became a head coach in 1987 at Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania. His teams showed improvement each of his first four seasons, culminating in an appearance in the 1991 NCAA tournament. The A-10 recognized Baron as Coach of the Year in 1995. Rhode Island spent four weeks ranked in the top-25 polls from December 24, 2007 to January 21, 2008. However, after a 7–24 season and a second-to-last place conference finish in 2011–12, the university terminated his contract on March 4, 2012. Rhode Island never appeared in the NCAA Tournament during Baron's tenure.

Canisius College hired Baron as men's basketball head coach on April 2, 2012. After four years at Canisius, Baron announced his retirement from coaching on May 20, 2016.

Personal life Baron is the father of two professional basketball-playing sons, Jimmy and Billy Baron, both of whom he coached in college.

Head coaching record