Muskingum’s Ford Announces Retirement

Muskingum men’s basketball coach Gene Ford announced his retirement Monday, putting a halt to a coaching career that has spanned 39 years.

“It’s the right time,” Ford told Muskingum Athletics. “I’ve been blessed to have been involved with basketball for four decades and it’s now time to step aside and spend more time with my family. The relationships I’ve developed with the student-athletes, coaches, staff and administration are the things I’ll miss the most.”

Ford’s accolades are impressive at both the high school and college levels. He coached the Cambridge Bobcats for 25 years, racking up 400 career wins and five state tournament appearances, including a state runner-up finish in 1995. Ford was inducted into the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Ohio Valley Athletic Conference Hall of Fame in 2009.

In his eight seasons at the helm for the Muskies, Ford coached four 1,000-point scorers and led Muskingum to the OAC final four.

The 1974 Muskingum alumnus was also a force to be reckoned with during his playing days. Ford ranks second all-time with 1,717 career points scored in a black and magenta uniform, earning All-American honors three times and OAC Player of the Year honors his senior year. He was a charter member of the Muskingum College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1980.

Ford’s sons, Geno and Dustin, have blazed their own trails on the hardwood. Geno is the head men’s basketball coach at Bradley University while Dustin is an assistant at the University of Illinois.

Muskingum will conduct an immediate national search for its next head coach, per sports information director Tom Caudill.

Photo Credit: Muskingum University