The 2016 John Lotz “Barnabas” Award was presented to Ed Schilling, assistant men’s basketball coach at UCLA, during Monday's FCA Coaches Luncheon at the Men’s College Basketball Final Four in Houston.
The award is presented annually to honor a basketball coach who best exhibits a commitment to Christ, integrity and encouragement to others, and lives a balanced life. Schilling is the 14th recipient of the “Barnabas” Award, named for former North Carolina assistant and Florida head coach John Lotz.
(left-right) Executive VP of Ministry Programs Jeff Martin, Barnabas Award recipient Ed Schilling and Southwest Region VP Wade Hopkins.
Schilling is in his third season as an assistant coach at UCLA. Last season, Schilling helped 2006 John Lotz Award recipient Steve Alford lead the Bruins to a 22-14 overall record and the program’s second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16. Schilling and the Bruins’ coaching staff have also helped send seven UCLA players to the NBA.
During his first season in Westwood, Schilling helped guide UCLA to a 28-9 mark, including the Pac-12 Tournament Championship and the program’s first appearance in the Sweet 16 since 2008. The Bruins concluded the season ranking No. 11 in the country in scoring, No. 3 in assist turnover ratio, No. 4 in steals and No. 5 in assists. Schilling’s efforts on the recruiting trail helped UCLA secure an incoming group ranked as high as No. 3 nationally.
Schilling arrived at UCLA in April 2013 after having spent the previous four seasons as head coach at Park Tudor High School in Indianapolis. He guided the Panthers to an 87-18 record in four years, securing two IHSAA Class 2A state titles and a runner-up finish.
In 2012-13, Park Tudor won the Marion Court championship and broke the regular-season win record. In 2010-11 and 2011-12, Park Tudor made historic runs to win back-to-back IHSAA Class 2A state championship after having finished as runner-up in 2009-10.
In addition, Schilling spent time from May through September preparing athletes each year for professional basketball with St. Vincent’s Sports Performance and its NBA readiness program. His pre-draft preparation included working with more than 60 high-profile young players, including No. 1 NBA Draft selection Greg Oden, Mike Conley, Mario Chalmers, Gordon Hayward, Carl Landry, Jeff Teague, Marquis Teague, Cody Zeller and many others.
From 2007 to 2013, Schilling served as a head coach for Adidas Nations, coaching and training the Adidas High School All-American Team in national and international competition. In addition, he has served as executive director and trainer at Champions Academy, a not-for-profit basketball organization for youth and college-aged athletes in Indianapolis.
Prior to his work with Adidas Nations and Champions Academy, Schilling served as an assistant coach at Memphis for two seasons (2003-04, 2004-05) after having been the head coach at Wright State for six years (1998-2003). In his two seasons on staff at Memphis, the Tigers compiled a 44-24 record.
In his first season (2003-04) as an assistant coach at Memphis working alongside head coach John Calipari, Schilling helped the Tigers post a 22-8 overall record and a 12-4 mark in Conference USA, winning a share of the league regular-season title, the program’s first conference championship since 1995-96. Memphis also made a return trip to the NCAA Tournament and recorded a first-round victory over South Carolina before finishing the season ranked No. 24 in the Associated Press poll.
Schilling arrived at Memphis after a six-year run as the head coach at Wright State, helping the Raiders produce a 75-93 overall record. Among the biggest wins in program history occurred Dec. 30, 1999, when Wright State defeated then-No. 6 Michigan State, 53-49, in front of a near-capacity crowd at WSU’s Nutter Center. Many basketball analysts referred to that win as the most significant upset of the decade. Michigan State captured the NCAA Championship later that season.
Schilling was a member of Calipari’s coaching staff at the University of Massachusetts during the 1995-96 season. That year, the Minutemen advanced to the Final Four and posted a 35-2 overall record.
When Calipari was named the vice president of basketball operations and basketball coach with the New Jersey Nets, Schilling joined him as an assistant coach in 1996-97. His rise in the coaching profession was chronicled in Sports Illustrated, as he became the only coach to advance from the high school ranks to the Final Four and then to the bench of an NBA team in a period of 310 days. At that time, Schilling was the youngest assistant coach on the bench in the NBA.
Following his time with the New Jersey Nets, Schilling was named Wright State’s head coach.
After graduating from Miami University in Ohio in 1988, Schilling served as a high school head coach for the next seven years—three years at Western Boone High School in Thorntown, Ind., and four years as head coach at Logansport High School in Logansport, Ind.
In his third and final season at Western Boone (1990-91), Schilling led the program to a school record for single-season wins. Playing in arguably the most competitive prep conference in the country, Logansport’s basketball program improved each of Schilling’s four seasons. In his final two years, his teams won consecutive sectional championships while compiling the most wins at Logansport in more than 20 years.
Schilling was a four-year starting point guard at Miami University in Ohio from 1985-88. He was a two-time captain and, playing alongside Ron Harper, Schilling helped lead the school to a pair of NCAA Tournament berths. He was a three-time academic all-conference selection and is still the single-game assist record holder in the Mid-American Conference. He also established single-game, season and career assist records at Miami University, records all of which are still standing.
Schilling, 49, has also co-authored two books: “Guard Play,” co-authored with Alford, and “Five Star Basketball,” which was written with Howard Garfinkel. A native of Lebanon, Ind., Schilling has four daughters, and he and his wife, April, have two daughters.
Since its launch by FCA in 2003, the “Barnabas” Award has honored an impressive and impactful lineup of coaches, including:
- 2003: Homer Drew, Valparaiso
- 2004: John Wooden, UCLA
- 2005: Dale Clayton, Carson-Newman
- 2006: Steve Alford, Iowa
- 2007: Dale Layer, Colorado State
- 2008: Willis Wilson, Rice
- 2009: Ritchie McKay, Virginia
- 2010: Gary Waters, Cleveland State
- 2011: Billy Kennedy, Texas A&M
- 2012: Don Meyer, Northern State
- 2013; Tom Crean, Indiana
- 2014: Bob Hoffman, Mercer
- 2015: Jayson Gee, Longwood University
Photos courtesy of Jeff Martin and UCLA Basketball