Stephen Mark Merfeld (born September 23, 1961) is an American college basketball coach. He currently is the associate head men's basketball coach at Creighton University and previously served as head coach at Hampton University and the University of Evansville.

Steve Merfeld
Current position
TitleAssistant to the head coach
Director of player development[1]
TeamCreighton
ConferenceBig East
Biographical details
Born (1961-09-23) September 23, 1961 (age 63)
Bloomington, Wisconsin, U.S.
Alma materWisconsin–La Crosse[1]
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1986–1996Bowling Green (asst.)
1996–1997Hampton (asst.)
1997–2002Hampton
2002–2007Evansville
2007–2009Bradley (asst.)
2010–presentCreighton (asst.)
Head coaching record
Overall144–148 (.493)
Tournaments1–2 (NCAA Division I)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Awards
  • MEAC Coach of the Year (2002)

Career

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After graduating from the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse, Merfeld began his coaching career with a ten-year stint as an assistant under Jim Larrañaga at Bowling Green State.[1] He then joined the staff at Hampton, where he was promoted to head coach in 1997 after one season as an assistant coach. Merfeld coached the Hampton Pirates to back-to-back NCAA tournaments, including a first-round upset of second-seeded Iowa State in 2001. The shot of Hampton forward David Johnson lifting a jubilant Merfeld in the air in celebration after the Pirates' 2001 upset remains a memorable event in March Madness history.

After being named Mid-Major Coach of the Year by CollegeInsider.com in 2002,[1] Merfeld departed Hampton to become the head coach at Evansville, a position he remained in until 2007.

In December 2009, he stepped down as an assistant coach at Bradley University.[2]

Merfeld joined Greg McDermott's staff at Creighton prior to the 2010–11 season.[3]

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Hampton Pirates (Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference) (1997–2002)
1997–98 Hampton 14–12 11–7 T–3rd
1998–99 Hampton 8–19 8–10 8th
1999–2000 Hampton 17–12 13–5 T–2nd
2000–01 Hampton 25–7 14–4 T–1st NCAA Division I Round of 32
2001–02 Hampton 26–7 17–1 1st NCAA Division I Round of 64
Hampton: 90–57 (.612) 63–27 (.700)
Evansville Purple Aces (Missouri Valley Conference) (2002–2007)
2002–03 Evansville 12–16 8–10 T–5th
2003–04 Evansville 7–22 5–13 T–8th
2004–05 Evansville 11–17 5–13 T–9th
2005–06 Evansville 10–19 5–13 T–7th
2006–07 Evansville 14–17 6–12 T–7th
Evansville: 54–91 (.372) 29–61 (.322)
Total: 144–148 (.493)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Steve Merfeld". Creighton University Athletics. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  2. ^ Anonymous. "Bradley assistant coach Merfeld departs - Peoria, IL". pjstar.com. Retrieved October 30, 2012.
  3. ^ "Merfeld to be named Creighton assistant". Peoria Journal Star. May 10, 2010. Retrieved July 22, 2019.