University of Dayton Coach Anthony Grant is entering his eighth season at the helm of his alma mater’s men’s basketball program, and is also in his third season as the Dr. Stephen B. Levitt Head Men’s Basketball Coaching Chair.
In the summer of 2022, Dr. Levitt created a multi-million dollar endowment that will fund Dayton men’s basketball head coaching position. It is the largest donor-funded endowment involving a chaired position in UD history, and the first head coaching chair endowment for the Flyers.
Dayton was 29-2 in 2019-20, setting the school record for most wins. Dayton ended the year ranked third in the nation and won its third Atlantic 10 regular season championship in the last five years, but went undefeated (18-0) in conference play for the first time.
Grant was the consensus national Coach of the Year, earning that honor from the Atlanta Tip-Off Club (Naismith Trophy), the NABC, the USBWA (Henry Iba Award), the Associated Press, The Sporting News, Fox Sports and CBSsports.com, among others.
He was on the Atlanta Tip-Off Club’s 2024 Naismith National Coach of the Year the Late-Season Watch List.
When the Covid-19 pandemic abruptly ended the 2019-20 basketball season, many said there would be no team more wounded by the cancellation of the NCAA tournament than Dayton. Grant would have none of it, simply stating “This is bigger than basketball.” Later, when those in the game began to take stock of what had happened in the spring, the Flyer leader emphasized that it was important for his team to recognize what they did accomplish, rather than have regrets over what they could have accomplished.
Still riding the wave of the most heralded season in school history, that success opened the doors to a Top 25 recruiting class, allowing Grant and his staff to present their vision of Dayton basketball to the kind of talented prospects who are the best fit to be a Flyer.
In their seven years on campus, Grant and his staff have brought in six players who have been named to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team at the end of their freshman seasons. Two of those players eventually were consensus All-Americans -- Obi Toppin in 2020 and DaRon Holmes II in 2024. Toppin was also the consensus College Player of the Year. The 2020 NBA lottery pick is one of four of Grant's Flyers to play in the NBA.
The 2023-24 season saw the Flyers return to the NCAA tournament, with UD advancing to the second round. Dayton finished 24th in the final AP poll. Grant was one of 15 coaches named to the Late Season Watch List for the Atlanta Tip-Off Club's Naismith Coach of the Year Award. He was also one of six coaches who guide his alma mater to the 2024 NCAA tournament.
He was also selected to receive a “Guardians of the Game” award from the National Association of Basketball Coaches at the 2024 Final Four. Grant’s honor was for Education in recognition of he and his wife Chris’ efforts mental health awareness. Receiving the other four 2024 NABC Guardians of the Game awards were Baylor coach Scott Drew for Leadership; longtime Division III coach Dan Priest for Service; former Missouri coach Norm Stewart for Advocacy and Saguaro High School (Ariz.) coach Lucas Ramirez for Inclusion.
The University announced Anthony Grant as the 20th head coach in UD Basketball history on March 30, 2017.
Grant had most recently been on the coaching staff of the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder. He spent the last two seasons on then Thunder coach Billy Donovan’s staff after nine seasons as head coach at Alabama and VCU and 13 seasons as a Division I assistant coach.
In his first nine seasons as a head coach, Grant took his teams to three NCAA tournament appearances and seven postseason tournament berths. He won his 300th career game in a win over Southeastern Louisiana on Dec. 3, 2022.
He was the 13th active African-American coach at the Division I level to reach 300 wins.
Grant is also a 1987 graduate of the University of Dayton, where he was a four-year basketball letterwinner and three-year starter. He played in 105 games at Dayton, and averaged 11.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game as a starter. He was the Flyers’ co-captain and the White-Allen Most Valuable Player as a senior. His teams played in two NCAAs and one NIT.
The 20th coach in Dayton’s history, Grant is just the seventh Flyer coach in the last 75 years. In the modern era of UD basketball, Grant is just the second Dayton grad to coach the Flyers. The first was his coach, College BB Hall of Famer Don Donoher (1964-89).
Anthony Grant Coaching Resume
Overall Record: 342-181 (16 Seasons)
Dayton Record: 149-72 (Seven Seasons)
Year School Record
2006-07 VCU 28-7 (.800)
2007-08 VCU 24-8 (.750)
2008-09 VCU 24-10 (.706)
2009-10 Alabama 17-15 (.531)
2010-11 Alabama 25-12 (.676)
2011-12 Alabama 21-12 (.636)
2012-13 Alabama 23-13 (.639)
2013-14 Alabama 13-19 (.406)
2014-15 Alabama 18-14 (.563)
2017-18 Dayton 14-17 (.452)
2018-19 Dayton 21-12 (.636)
2019-20 Dayton 29-2 (.935)
2020-21 Dayton 14-10 (.583)
2021-22 Dayton 24-11 (.686)
2022-23 Dayton 22-12 (.647)
2023-24 Dayton 25-8 (.758)
Totals 16 Seasons* 342-181 (.647)
At UD 7 Seasons* 149-72 (.674)
*Entering the 2024-25 season
