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Dunlap deal a slam-dunk for Metro
By Eric Lansing
lansing@mscd.edu

Photo by Rachel Crick/crick@mscd.edu Coach Dunlap speaks to a crowd May 31 at the Auraria Campus Event Center. Dunlap signed a new five-year contract worth $148,000 per year.

In today’s culture of championships as the only measure of success in sports, coaches are forced to win immediately or face the wrath of the administration, the booster club and the fans.

Coaches aren’t given ample time and tools to create a winning organization, and they face the ax if their wins are fewer than their losses.

Since head coach Mike Dunlap arrived in Denver nine years ago, the Metro basketball team ventured far from such coaching issues.

The tradition will continue for the Roadrunners, after signing Dunlap to a five-year extension through the 2011 season.

“The majority (of coaches) are under fire,” Dunlap said. “I am fortunate to be on the other side of that ledger and I think it allows you a mental freedom where you can basically do what you need to do in the limited role you’re in.”

Dunlap’s résumé includes two National Championships, four National Coach of the Year awards, nine consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and at least 23 wins a season since he arrived at the school. He has a 248-50 record at Metro, and more than 300 wins as a head coach.

In comparison, University of Colorado head coach Ricardo Patton has a 177-140 record in 10 years with the Buffaloes.

In giving Dunlap the $148,000 annual salary, the athletic department reaffirmed its support of one of NCAA Division II basketball’s best coaches.

“We are very excited he stayed,” Metro Athletic Director Joan McDermott said about re-signing Dunlap.

“The last thing we wanted to do was to have him leave. We are thrilled to have him sign the five-year deal and he means so much for not only the basketball program, but the institute as well.”

The move came after his current contract expired, and rumors about Dunlap possibly taking on the reigns of a Division-I basketball team were a reality. There was talk of schools such as Pepperdine University taking him to the D-I spotlight.

“We thought about it,” Dunlap said. “But we also thought about staying here. It was just about compare and contrast and it was just better for us to be in this current position.”

Dunlap said Division I is an opportunity that will always be evaluated. He has been there before as an assistant coach with schools such as Southern California, Iowa, and Loyola-Marymount.

He even used to attend practices of former Temple head coach John Chaney’s practices to learn the ins and outs of coaching.

Currently, Dunlap is alsoworking as an assistant coach with the Men’s Under-18 USA Basketball team.

He works as a court coach and loves the experience to help out his country not only on a national level but an international level as well.

“I think it is really good because I wanted to learn a lot in being in that environment with that kind of talent,” Dunlap said.

“Secondly, you are around really good coaches and if you can contribute on the level of trying to assist internationally with the competition, then you can feel really good about those things.”

Dunlap may be giving his time and knowledge to the efforts of the USA team but knows his Metro squad is a year-round process, including the off-season.

He understands the learning never stops and is always watching other successful coaches work with their players.

Dunlap said he goes to clinics, visits coaches for an entire day or two, and even walks across the street to the Pepsi Center to see how the professional coaches interact with their players.

After everything Dunlap has accomplished in his term with Metro, one may question the motivation he has with five more years added to his contract.

Does the athletic department question his motives in possibly waiting around until the right Division I school comes calling?

“Absolutely not,” McDermott said. “I think it is hard to take a program and win the whole thing, but it is harder to sustain that. There is already an elite group to win a national championship but to continue to be in that mix year after year is a very difficult task and it is even a smaller elite group to be a part of.”

Dunlap said he would like to take that next step to Division I if it made sense for his family, but likes the marriage he has with Metro and believes it will continue to be so in the coming years.

With every season, old players move on and new players come in. But it has been Dunlap who finds the strengths of his players and adapts the game plan to continue the success he consistently brings to court.

“The fundamentals do not change, just the identity of the personnel,” Dunlap said.

“ I am not a big proponent of ‘here is our system and learn to play in it.’ The wise coaches adjust to the talent they have and they use that talent in a way that always brings out the best in their players.”