Brad Stevens ‘99, the current head coach of the Boston Celtics, returns to DePauw on March 9th. His Ubben Lecture will take place in the Green Center for Performing Arts at 7p.m. Last month, Stevens accepted his nomination into the DePauw Athletics Hall of Fame.
While at DePauw, Stevens majored in economics and also was a Management Fellow. In 2007, Stevens, 30 years old at the time, earned the job as head basketball coach at Butler University. From 2007-2013, Stevens led Butler to two Final Fours and a 166-49 record. Proceeding his tenure at Butler, Stevens became head coach of the Boston Celtics. He is the youngest coach in the NBA.
Stevens vocalized what the DePauw experience did for him. In a 2013 ESPN article, Stevens said, “My experience at DePauw was about as beneficial as any experience I’ve had.” Bill Fenlon, the DePauw men's basketball coach, mentored Stevens during his time at DePauw. For Fenlon, Stevens is the ‘poster boy’ for a liberal arts education. “Brad was an athlete, a management fellow, did service in the community, and was in a fraternity. Literally had his hands on everything he could get involved in.” Additionally, Fenlon knew that Stevens would become incredibly successful with whatever he pursued after he graduated.
Fenlon spoke highly of Stevens, claiming he is everything you could want in a representative of DePauw. “Brad is a great member of this community, a great father and husband,” said Fenlon. Despite the pressure of coaching an NBA team on a nightly basis, Stevens never misrepresents what the university stands for, and is a prime example of a successful DePauw graduate. Furthermore, Fenlon elaborated on the packed schedule which Stevens is managing to make this Ubben lecture possible. “He is sandwiching this between practice, film, and playing the Pacers the next night.”
Some students have anticipated his arrival. “Coach Stevens has proven that he is a once-in-a-generation coach, as he led a mid-major program in Butler to two national championships, and then transitioned to the NBA and took a 25-57 Celtics team and formed them into an Eastern Conference powerhouse," said senior and noted Celtics fan Ryan Jones. The DePauw community should be excited and honored to have one of its greatest alumni back on campus this Monday night.