MDC Hires Former Arkansas State University Head Basketball Coach As Its Athletic Director
Mike Balado, who was once an assistant to college basketball Hall of Famer Rick Pitino and has had coaching stints at five South Florida schools, has been selected as athletic director at Miami Dade College.
Balado has never previously served as an AD.
But he believes his 23 years as a basketball coach—that includes recruiting, scheduling, budgeting, coordinating practices and mentoring athletes—have prepared him for his latest challenge.
“I’m not looking for this to be a stepping stone,” Balado said. “I’m not looking for this to be a place to reinvent myself…I’m doing this because this is what I love to do and I love to be around coaches and student athletes.”
The 47-year-old heard about the opening at MDC from long-time friend Jorge Fernandez, who serves as the Sharks’ head men’s basketball coach.
Fernandez was Balado’s Amateur Athletic Union travel coach in high school and later became his colleague at the University of Miami.
“He’s a great motivator, great communicator, [and has a] great work ethic,” Fernandez said.
At the top of Balado’s agenda at MDC will be hiring three head coaches—baseball and men’s and women’s soccer.
In June, the school announced it would add a soccer program starting in the fall of 2024.
This week, Adrian Morales stepped down as the Sharks head baseball coach, taking the reins of the program at Nova Southeastern University. He won 126 games in four years at MDC and was named the Southern Conference Coach of the Year the past two seasons.
Miami Dade College currently has men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, softball and a women’s volleyball team.
“When people bring up the best of the best in every sport that we offer, I want the first words to come out of their mouth [to be], ‘What is MDC doing that we can become as successful as they are,’” Balado said. “That’s my goal—to be the best athletic program in the country.”
Balado spent the past six seasons as the Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Arkansas State University, compiling an 82-100 mark.
During his tenure at ASU, Balado recruited and developed 6-foot-7 inch forward Norchad Omier who was the 2022 Sun Belt Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year while averaging 17.9 points and 12.2 rebounds a game. Omier transferred to the University of Miami the following season and led the Hurricanes to a Final Four run in 2023, averaging 13.1 points and 10 rebounds per game.
Balado’s best year was the 2021-22 season when the Red Wolves were 18-11. That was his only year with a record above .500.
Arkansas State fired Balado in March after his team finished 13-20.
Prior to ASU, he was an assistant coach at the University of Louisville under Rick Pitino from 2013-17. Before that, he was an assistant for Pitino’s son, Richard, at Florida International University, helping the school to an 18-14 record in the 2012-13 season.
Balado has also had coaching stints at High Point University, a private school in North Carolina, Florida Atlantic University, Nova Southeastern University, Miami Southridge Senior High School and graduate assistant jobs at the University of Miami and Augusta University—now Georgia Regents University.
From 2003-2005, Balado served as an assistant at MDC. The team won a conference title in his last season, posting a school-best 27-5 record that year.
“I’m a big believer that destiny places you in places at the right time for the right reasons,” Balado said. “I think it’s best that at this time in my life, I come and try to help as much as I can to lead [Miami Dade College] to even better heights and more successes.”
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