March Madness

There is a reason they call it March Madness and this year’s tournament has not disappointed. The UConn vs Duke game was just incredible, and that was only an Elite Eight game. But one thing caught my eye that turned me in a different direction about the tournament. I glanced at the TV and noticed that Tennessee was playing, and there was someone who looked rather familiar. It was the coach of Tennessee, Rick Barnes.

He looked a little older than I remember (don’t we all). I remember him from his days when he was the head coach at Clemson University. When you live in the Triangle area of North Carolina, ACC basketball is religion. I remember that dust-up he had with Coach Dean Smith when Clemson played the Tarheels.

I lost track of Coach Barnes and did not realize he has had a lengthy career in college basketball. He is 72 years old and still coaching. Of course that sent me down the rabbit hole of the generations. So, I did a little research and came up with a few interesting findings.

Looking at the teams plus the first four teams in the 2026 NCAA men’s basketball tournament, I dug up a few facts. Out of the field of 68 head coaches, here is how they are distributed by generation. 57% of the coaches are from Generation X. 24% are Millennials and 19% are Baby Boomers. There are no Gen Z coaches in the tournament. In fact, there are no Gen Z head coaches in NCAA men’s basketball (the youngest head coach in men’s NCAA basketball is Tevon Sadler from Nichols State at 31 years old).

There are still three remaining games in the tournament, but I compiled a few facts from the tournament so far. The highest percentage of wins (36 wins) is Gen X with 56%. That stands to reason with the higher percentage of coaches.

Next are Baby Boomers with 20 wins at a 31% winning percentage. Familiar names like John Calipari, Bill Self, and the oldest Baby Boomer, Rick Pitino, at 74 years old. Finally, millennial coaches won eight games, representing a 13% winning percentage. Notable coaches here are Jerry McNamara at Siena, Flynn Clayman at High Point, and of course John Scheyer at Duke.

The interesting highlight here is that Baby Boomer coaches were twice as effective as Millennial coaches. In this industry of collegiate sports, experience is highly valued. There are many reasons why a team wins or loses in a 40-minute game. It’s not just about the coaches because it’s the players that are on the court. But how players react under stress during important moments of the game can very well be why a team wins or loses.

I took it a little further (not necessarily scientific, but interesting), coaches under 40 and over 70. Coaches under 40 secured 5 wins (7.81%). Notable wins came from Jon Scheyer (Duke) and Jai Lucas (Miami FL). Coaches over 70 secured 9 wins (14.06%). This group includes legends like Rick Pitino, Tom Izzo, and Kelvin Sampson.

Why do these coaches over 70 continue coaching? I gather they don’t need the money or the stress. I think they do it for the love of the game and they are still good at it. The numbers here show that they can deliver better than their younger counterparts.

Yet in today’s workplace, companies are reluctant to hire older, experienced employees who can provide great value to any organization. You are now starting to hear that Gen Xers are worried about their jobs due to age. Age equals experience and it should be valued.

John Scheyer at Duke has had a couple of rough tournaments. He is only 38 years old and has seen many successes that others would covet. Yet, he’s been condemned for not winning the big games with the personnel he has had. To take you back a bit, Coach Mike Krzyzewski became head coach of Duke at 33 years old and weathered many a storm to have the illustrious career he enjoyed.

Every generation has something to offer and can excel at their craft. Hiring managers should put their faith in what the individual can deliver and how their strengths can be an asset to the team. Teams may have an over 70’s coach but look at their staff and you will find it’s multigenerational. The same applies to most under 40 coaches. Having a multigenerational team is smart business.

For the Final Four this weekend, we’ll have three GenX coaches and one Baby Boomer. Good luck to the teams. Oh, and that color analyst working the UConn vs Duke game that yelled “Nylon!!!” after Braylon Mullins’ three pointer to secure the victory for UConn? That’s longtime commentator Bill Raftery. He is 82, the Silent Generation.