Former Heisman Trophy winner and first-round NBA draft pick Charlie Ward is set to become the men’s basketball coach at Florida A&M, sources told ESPN.
Ward is finalizing a deal to become the Rattlers’ coach, sources said. The school’s board has a meeting scheduled for 3 p.m. ET Wednesday, when there is an agenda item to approve the contract of a new men’s basketball coach.
Ward, 54, was the 1993 Heisman Trophy winner at Florida State and played in the NBA from 1994 to 2005. He played primarily for the New York Knicks but finished his career playing for both the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets.
Ward brings a diverse résumé of basketball coaching experience. He was an assistant coach with the Rockets for two seasons in 2005-06 and 2006-07 and a high school head coach in Tallahassee and with USA basketball.
He becomes the highest-profile coach at an HBCU men’s program in the country, as he joins Mo Williams, the coach at Jackson State, as former NBA players coaching in Division I at an HBCU.
Ward takes over a challenging job, as Florida A&M hasn’t reached the NCAA tournament since 2007 and has appeared in three tournaments in school history.
FAMU went 14-17 last season under coach Patrick Crarey, who left after one year. The school’s last winning season came in its NCAA tournament season of 2006-07. Five coaches since have worked there without finding a way to achieve a winning record.
Ward will provide a jolt for the program, as he is one of the biggest names in the area at the Tallahassee-based school from his playing and coaching career.