Jon Coffman was hired as the 12th head coach of the Mastodon men's basketball program in 2014 after serving as an assistant for three seasons. He enters the 2022-23 campaign in his ninth season as head coach with a 139-114 record. He has the most victories in program history during the NCAA Division I era (2001-present).
Coffman, the 2015-16 Summit League Coach of the Year, has guided the Mastodons to winning seasons each year as head coach. The ‘Dons have played in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament in 2015, 2017 and 2018. The 2016 ‘Dons earned the program’s first berth in the National Invitational Tournament. The Mastodons were the only Division I squad in Indiana to play in five consecutive postseasons starting in 2013-14.
His squads have been just as accomplished in the classroom, receiving a pair of NCAA APR Public Recognition Awards. The ‘Dons were the only Summit League program to earn the honor in 2016-17 and joined Valparaiso as the only two men’s basketball programs in Indiana to receive the award.
The ‘Dons have produced one of the best offenses in the nation under Coffman. From 2015 to 2019, Purdue Fort Wayne has ranked in the top 15 in 3-pointers per game each season. In five of six seasons from 2013 to 2019, the Mastodons ranked in the top 35 in the country in points per game.
Coffman directed the Mastodons to a pair of wins over Indiana. The victory over No. 3 Indiana in 2016 matched the highest ranked team a Summit League school has ever defeated. It came in front of the largest crowd to ever watch a basketball game in the City of Fort Wayne. The win earned multiple ESPN SportsCenter interviews. In 2017, the Mastodons picked up a 92-72 victory at Indiana. The victory margin (20) was the largest Summit League win against a Big Ten opponent since 1994.
Coffman recruit John Konchar made NCAA history. Konchar became the first student-athlete in NCAA Division I men’s basketball history to record 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 500 steals and 200 steals. He was named to the All-Summit League First Team each of his four seasons (2016-19) in a Mastodon uniform. Konchar became the second Mastodon in school history to receive an invitation to the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. Following the NBA Draft, he signed with the Memphis Grizzlies.
Another Coffman recruit, Bryson Scott, played in the 2018 Reese's College All-Star Game after setting a program record for single-season points (746). Mo Evans finished his career as the program leader in 3-pointers with 266. Evans’ senior class (2017) finished with the most wins in program history.
The 2015-16 ‘Dons won the Summit League regular season title. The Mastodons finished 24-10 and saw Max Landis named the Summit League Player of the Year. Landis would earn Associated Press All-American status.
Coffman spent the previous three seasons as an assistant coach with the Mastodons. The 2013-14 squad ended the season with the eighth-best field goal percentage in NCAA Division I, while ranking 16th in three-point field goal percentage, 20th in total three-point field goals, and 27th in total assists.
Previously he spent two years on staff at Colgate University, where he was an assistant under Emmett Davis who ranks as the all-time winningest coach in school history. At Colgate, Coffman held the top assistant position and oversaw the Raiders' player development, opponent scouting, scheduling and recruiting coordination of Colgate’s national recruiting effort. During the two years in Hamilton, N.Y., Coffman helped to coach and recruit two all-rookie league selections, a first team all-league selection and Coffman’s fourteenth player to sign a professional contract.
Coffman’s coaching career is marked by working with outstanding head coaches that have combined for 1141 wins between them, including two Hall of Fame college coaches whose courts are named in their honor (John Kresse/College of Charleston & Bob Johnson/Emory & Henry College), three coaches that hold their schools' all-time win mark (Emmett Davis/Colgate, John Kresse/College of Charleston & Bob Johnson/Emory & Henry). In addition, he played for Hall of Fame high school coach, Ron Bell, at the Marist School in Atlanta, Ga., who amassed 636 wins and won three State Championships during his high school coaching tenure.
Prior to Colgate, Coffman spent eight seasons on the staff at Stetson University, where he was an assistant under Derek Waugh. Coffman, a high school classmate of Waugh, joined the Stetson staff in 2001 after Waugh was named the youngest Division I coach in the country. Coffman’s duties at Stetson included working with the guards, opponent scouting, fund raising, coordinating camps, scheduling and coordinating recruiting. Coffman acted as the recruiting coordinator during his last 5 years at Stetson, and during this period, the Hatters won 33 of their last 44 home games (.750), had their highest conference finish in program history, and set three school records for wins in the Division I era (overall, road and home winning streaks).
While a member of the Stetson University coaching staff, Stetson signed three A-Sun All-Freshman team members, six All-Conference selections, the leading scoring duo in Stetson history (EJ Gordon & Anthony Register), three players that rank in the top 10 all-time scorers in school history (EJ Gordon-1691/Garfield Blair-1583/Anthony Register-1414), 15 All-State players in Florida, Georgia and Alabama, a junior college All-American, the 2009 conference Defensive Player of the Year, the 2003 NCAA steals leader and eight players that have gone on to play professionally. Before leaving Stetson in the summer of 2009, Coffman helped to recruit and lay the groundwork for Stetson to secure the top 2009 & 2010 recruiting classes in the Atlantic Sun Conference according to ESPN.com.
Coffman’s tenure also included an upset over the University of Georgia in 2004, which marked the Hatters’ first win over an SEC opponent in 21 years. In addition, the 2005-2006 campaign marked one of the greatest single-season turnarounds in NCAA history. While faltering during Stetson’s pre-conference season and at one point owning the nation’s longest losing streak, the Hatters rebounded to win 12 of their last 14 games and actually held the nation’s longest winning streak during February.
At Stetson, Coffman started one of the largest team camps in the state of Florida. In addition, he helped to facilitate the largest Elite Camp in the state, which played a significant role in upgrading Stetson’s recruiting efforts in Florida.
Prior to Stetson, Coffman coached under John Kresse at the College of Charleston in 2000-01. While on staff, the Cougars recorded a 22-7 record and the Southern Conference regular season title and a 13-0 record at home. During the 2000-01 season, the Cougars were ranked the top mid-major team in the country for a large part of the year and rose as high as 33rd in the country in the AP Poll.
Coffman began his coaching career in 1997 at Emory & Henry College in Emory, Va. as the top assistant under coach Bob Johnson. While at Emory & Henry, Coffman helped to recruit Justin Call, who earned the Jostens Trophy (Division III National Player of the Year Award) while playing for the Wasps.
Coffman graduated from Washington & Lee University in 1996, earning a bachelor’s degree in both economics and geology. He was also a three-year starter for the Generals basketball team and captain of the 1995-96 squad. He still holds three school records, including the mark for most three-pointers in a game (7) and free throws made in a game (18).
After graduation, Coffman worked in finance for two years in San Francisco, Calif. before joining the coaching ranks in 1997.
Coffman and his wife, Tracy, have a son, Thomas, and a daughter, Lucy. They reside in Fort Wayne. Tracy has coached softball collegiately for the past 16 years and is currently the head coach at Northwest Ohio.
