Travis Ford

Travis Ford (born December 29, 1969) is an American college basketball coach. He is the head coach at Little Rock. He previously was the Head Coach at Saint Louis University, Oklahoma State, Massachusetts, Eastern Kentucky and Campbellsville University. Prior to that, he played at the University of Missouri and the University of Kentucky.

Early life Travis Ford was born in Madisonville, Kentucky on December 29, 1969.

Playing career While attending Madisonville North Hopkins High School, Ford made three state tournament appearances and was Western Kentucky Player of the Year twice. He was named to the All-State Team, and earned 31.7 points as a senior.

Ford entered the University of Missouri in 1989. He played basketball for the Missouri Tigers and was named to the Big Eight Conference All-Freshman team. The following year, Ford transferred to the University of Kentucky to play for head coach Rick Pitino, sitting out the 1990–91 season due to NCAA rules on transfers. After playing sparingly his sophomore year, Ford was a starter during his junior and senior years, and set school records in single-game assists (15), single-season three-point field goals (101) and consecutive free throws made (50). During his three eligible seasons with Kentucky, the Wildcats won three consecutive SEC Tournament championships (1992–94), won an SEC East Division title in 1992, and made it to the 1993 Final Four.

He earned a bachelor's degree in communications from University of Kentucky in 1994.

Coaching career

Campbellsville In 1997, Ford was offered the head coach job at Campbellsville University. He accepted the position, and in 1999 led the Tigers to a 28–3 record, earning Mid-South Conference Coach of the Year honors.

Eastern Kentucky In 2000, Ford accepted the head coaching position at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Kentucky. In five seasons at EKU, Ford led the Colonels from a 7–19 record his first year to a 22–9 record and an Ohio Valley Conference championship in 2005. In a much publicized first-round NCAA Tournament matchup with his alma mater, the University of Kentucky, Ford's team pushed the Wildcats to the limit before losing 72–64. After the season on April 10, 2007, UMass announced that Ford had signed a five-year contract extension.

The 2007–08 season was arguably even more successful for Ford and Massachusetts. The team finished the season with a 25–11 record and a 10–6 record in the Atlantic 10 Conference. After losing in the A-10 tournament to Charlotte, UMass accepted an invitation to the NIT for the second straight year. They defeated Stephen F. Austin, Akron, Syracuse and Florida to make it to the NIT Finals. In the NIT Finals, they lost to Ohio State 92–85. Ohio State had made the previous year's NCAA championship game. Despite the team's postseason success and the previous year's contract extension, Ford would leave the next season for Oklahoma State.

Prior to the 2010–11 season, Ford signed McDonald's All-American recruit Marcus Smart. The Cowboys finished 24–9 overall, 13–5 in conference. Ford's fifth season was highlighted by a huge win in Lawrence, Kansas against Kansas – the first win by OSU at Kansas since 1989. Marcus Smart was named the Wayman Tisdale National Freshman of the Year and Big 12 Player of the Year. Oklahoma State earned a 5 seed in the NCAA tournament but failed to advance after a disappointing loss to #12 seed Oregon. Travis Ford had three key players announce their return for the 2013–14 season in Marcus Smart, Lebryan Nash, and Markel Brown. A promising non-conference start was followed by a stumbling conference slate and the team finished 21–13, 8–10 in Big 12 play. A loss to Gonzaga in the Second Round (formerly known as the First Round) of the NCAA tournament followed. Another difficult season followed as the Cowboys finished the season 18–14, 8–10 in Big 12 play with a disappointing Second Round loss to Oregon in the NCAA tournament. The 2015–16 season was even worse, OSU finished the season 12–20, 3–15 in Big 12 play.

Saint Louis On March 30, 2016, Saint Louis University announced that Ford has been hired as the head basketball coach. He inherited a Billikens team that had gone a disappointing 11–21 each of the previous two seasons under head coach Jim Crews. Due to a lack of talent from the previous regime, SLU was predicted to finish dead last of the Atlantic 10 conference during the 2016–17 season. Basketball statistician Ken Pomeroy predicted the Billikens as the team most likely to go winless throughout its conference schedule. Ford led the Billikens to six Atlantic 10 conference wins and a 146–109 overall record while at Saint Louis. Ford was fired by Saint Louis University in 2024.

Sports analyst Ford made his debut as a sports analyst in November 2024, commentating on the University of Kentucky-Lipscomb game.

Little Rock On March 26, 2026, Ford was introduced as the new head coach for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) Trojans, replacing former coach Darrell Walker.

Personal life Ford has three children, Brooks, Kyleigh, and Shane, with his wife Heather.