CONFERENCE SPEAKERS
Coach Mike Krzyzewski
Head Coach, Duke Blue Devils
As head coach of the Duke Blue Devils for over 30 years, Basketball Hall of Famer and current national championship coach Mike Krzyzewski has made a career of motivating people both on and off the court. Affectionately known as "Coach K," Krzyzewski coached the 2008 U.S. men's national team to its first gold medal since the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Known as the "Redeem Team" for its success both on and off the court, the team had a perfect 8-0 record during the Olympics and solidified U.S. basketball's return to dominance under Coach K's leadership. He also directed Team USA to the gold medal at the 2010 FIBA World Championships in Turkey to officially qualify for the 2012 Olympics in London.
During his tenure at Duke, Coach K has led his team to 4 NCAA Championships, 11 Final Fours, 13 Atlantic Coast Conference championships and an NCAA-record 12 30-win seasons. The all-time NCAA Division 1 men’s leader for wins with 903 and counting, Coach K has amassed an NCAA record 77 tournament victories while averaging more than 25 wins per season. Krzyzewski enters the 2011-12 season three wins shy of passing his mentor Bob Knight as the winningest coach in NCAA history.
Prior to coaching at Duke, Coach K spent five years building the men's basketball program at his alma mater, West Point. Overall, as of fall 2011, Coach K has a 900-225 career record and an 827- 224 record at Duke. On November 17, 2000, he earned his 500th win at Duke with a triumph over Villanova. That night, the fabled floor of Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium was dedicated as Coach K Court.
These accomplishments have not gone unnoticed. In all, Coach K has been named National Coach of the Year 12 times in 8 different seasons. He was named Coach of the Decade for the 1990s by the NABC and was the second recipient of the John R. Wooden Legends of Coaching Award. In 2001, Coach K was one of three members inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, with the presentation made by his college coach Bob Knight.
Krzyzewski received another prestigious honor in 2001, being named "America's Best Coach"—all coaches, any sport, any level of play—by TIME magazine and CNN. "No college hoops coach has won more in the past two decades," wrote Josh Tyrangiel of TIME "and Krzyzewski has accomplished all this with a program that turns out real-deal scholar athletes-kids who go to class, graduate and don't mind telling everyone about it."
In 2011, Sports Illustrated named Krzyzewski its Sportsman of the Year. In 2009, Sporting News also named Krzyzewski one of the 50 greatest coaches in any sport of all time.
Krzyzewski also has an impressive resume as a best-selling author including Leading with the Heart which reached The New York Times best seller list in 2000. His two most recent books Beyond Basketball: Coach K’s Keywords for Success, released in 2006, and THE GOLD STANDARD; Building a World-Class Team, released in 2009, were co-authored by his youngest daughter, Jamie Spatola.
