Cowherd Accepts Assistant Coaching Position At The University Of Louisiana At Monroe
Stephen Cowherd, who served as the head coach of the Miami Dade College men’s basketball team for the past five years, has accepted an assistant coaching position at the University of Louisiana at Monroe.
Cowherd had been the head coach since 2011 after the previous head coach, Matthew Eisele, resigned following allegations of misconduct toward one of his players.
Cowherd’s overall record in his five years at MDC was 74-78. He started at MDC with many obstacles. During his first two seasons the Sharks went 7-22 and 9-20.
“I believe I was hired on August 8, 2011, and we had zero scholarship players,” Cowherd said. “The first two years we weren’t the most talented team, but those players stabilized the program and paved the way for our future success.”
Cowherd eventually rebuilt the MDC basketball program. The Sharks improved to 21-10 in the 2013-2014 season and 21-11 in the 2014-2015 season before stumbling a bit last year, finishing with a 16-15 record.
In the 2013-2014 season and the 2014-2015 season, the Sharks made back-to-back appearances in the Florida College System Activities Association State Tournament, something that had never been done before at the MDC basketball program.
“He came here, he worked hard, did a really good job, and we’re all excited he is taking the next step to get to the next level,” said Assistant Director of Athletics Alysia Dyer about Cowherd’s newest opportunity.
As an assistant coach at ULM, Cowherd will be tasked with doing a variety of things, including coaching, scouting, recruiting and scheduling.
Cowherd will have some familiar faces at ULM such as Prince Cooper, a former MDC player and current senior on the ULM team, and Marvin Jean-Pierre, who just transferred from MDC after a stellar season with the Sharks.
Born and raised in South Florida, Stephen Cowherd has a long-standing connection with basketball that goes through his family. His two older sisters played college basketball and his father, Stan Cowherd, won two state 4A championships coaching his sisters at J.P. Taravella High School in Broward.
Cowherd played point guard at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where he won a county championship.
Cowherd played his first year of college at Mississippi State University before transferring to the University of South Alabama. During his time at USA, he averaged 5.2 points in 84 career games and was a member of two Sun Belt Conference championship teams in the 2005-2006 and 2006-2007 seasons.
Cowherd’s first experience in coaching came as a graduate assistant at Florida State University for two seasons on Leonard Hamilton’s staff.
“I will miss the people [at Miami Dade College],” Cowherd said. “Anthony Fiorenza and Aysia Dyer believed in me and gave me the opportunity to lead a program. I will forever be grateful to the two of them.”
The MDC athletics department has posted the head men’s basketball coaching position online and is reviewing applications. No timetable has been set for the new head coach to be selected.
