Mike DeGeorge:

Colleges That Change Lives

Mike DeGeorge, 55, is the head men’s basketball coach at Cal Poly–San Luis Obispo. A Colorado native, DeGeorge is in his second season with the Mustangs after being hired in March 2024 for his first Division I head-coaching opportunity. In his debut year, he engineered one of the most dramatic turnarounds in the country, guiding Cal Poly to a 12-win improvement from the prior season en route to the Big West Tournament semifinals.

Before taking the reins at Cal Poly, DeGeorge spent six highly successful seasons as the head coach at D2 Colorado Mesa. He led the Mavericks to five Tournament appearances, averaged 23 wins per season, and captured back-to-back RMAC championships. His work earned him RMAC Coach of the Year honors twice, along with NCAA West Region Coach of the Year recognition in 2020–21, when Colorado Mesa finished the regular season ranked No. 1 nationally.

DeGeorge’s coaching roots span the breadth of college basketball. The son of longtime coach Ed DeGeorge, he played four years of college basketball at Monmouth College before beginning his career as an assistant at Beloit, Lawrence, and Grinnell. He went on to rebuild multiple Division III programs as a head coach at Eureka, Cornell, and Rhodes.

He joined the show from San Luis Obispo for a conversation that touched on his coaching influences, how a year away from the game transformed his mindset, and the adjustment to Division 1.

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