After 20 years of experience on staff with some of the best college basketball coaches of all time, Mike Schrage (pronounced “SHRAWG-ee”) was named head coach of the men’s basketball program at Elon University on April 5, 2019.
“We are thrilled to welcome Mike, his wife Amanda, and their children Andrew and Sophia to the Elon family,” Blank said. “Mike has learned under some of the game’s best coaches in Bob Knight, Mike Krzyzewski, Johnny Dawkins and Chris Holtmann throughout his career. He has helped lead teams from every program he’s worked with to the NCAA Tournament, which includes multiple Sweet 16s and a win in the national championship game. His deep recruiting ties to North Carolina and beyond, his success at academically-rigorous institutions and his commitment to the total student-athlete experience makes us excited to have him as the leader of our men’s basketball program.”
Schrage guided the Phoenix to a 10-9 overall record and the program first ever berth into the CAA Tournament Championship game in the 2020-21 season. Elon won three games in the CAA Tournament for the first time in program history, also marking the first time in league history that a team entered the tournament as an eighth seed and advanced to the championship. Under Schrage's direction, the team finished the season ranked first in the conference in Team Defense, allowing just 65.0 points per game. Additionally, at least two Elon student-athletes earned All-Conference honors for the second straight season in Hunter McIntosh (2nd Team) and Darius Burford (All-Rookie). Off the court, Elon has maintained above a 3.0 Team GPA in each year under Schrage, with the 2021 Spring Semester marking the fourth consecutive semester for the program.
In his first season at the helm in 2019-20, Schrage led the Phoenix to a 13-21 overall record, including a 7-11 mark in confernece play. Along the way, the Phoenix earned its first ever appearance in the CAA Tournament Semifinals after defeating James Madison and William & Mary in the opening two rounds. Under Schrage's direction, the Phoenix ended the season ranked in the top-3 nationally in total three point makes (346). Schrage also coached three All-CAA performers in his first season in Marcus Sheffield (2nd Team), Hunter Woods (All-Rookie) and Hunter McIntosh (Rookie of the Year).
Schrage joined the Elon men’s basketball program after spending two seasons as an assistant coach at Ohio State for head coach Chris Holtmann. He has also worked with two of the best college basketball coaches of all time, spending nine seasons with Mike Krzyzewski at Duke and four seasons at Indiana when Bob Knight led the Hoosiers.
In his two years as an assistant at Ohio State, Schrage helped the Buckeyes exceed expectations with two trips to the NCAA Tournament Round of 32. In 2018-19, Ohio State went 20-15 and beat Iowa State in the first round of the Big Dance. The previous season, the Buckeyes posted a stellar 26-9 record and earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament, beating South Dakota State in the first round before falling 90-84 to Gonzaga. Schrage was instrumental in helping the Buckeyes sign a top-25 class in 2018 and a top-10 class in 2019.
“I am honored to be named the 18th head men’s basketball coach at Elon University,” Schrage stated. “It has been a dream of mine for a long time to lead a program, and I appreciate President Book and Mr. Blank affording me the opportunity at such a great institution. The commitment to athletics that Elon is making is impressive and the future is very bright. Elon is a great fit for me and my family, and we can’t wait to build great relationships with our student-athletes and the Elon community.”
Before going to Ohio State, Schrage spent one season on Holtmann’s staff at Butler in 2016-17. There, he helped the Bulldogs to a 25-9 record and a second-place finish in the BIG EAST while reaching the Sweet 16 for the first time since its 2011 run to the national championship game. Along the way, the fourth-seeded Bulldogs beat Winthrop and Middle Tennessee State before falling to eventual national champion North Carolina. Schrage also helped Butler sign its highest-rated class in program history.
Prior to Butler, Schrage spent eight seasons as an assistant coach for Johnny Dawkins at Stanford. During his time with the Cardinal, he helped sign 15 players ranked in the top-100 nationally. Four Stanford players were selected in the NBA Draft after their collegiate careers during Schrage’s time in Palo Alto and five played in the NBA. In Schrage’s eight seasons, the Cardinal appeared in the postseason five times, including a Sweet 16 appearance in 2014. It also won at least 20 games on four occasions.
Before going out west with Dawkins, Schrage spent nine seasons at Duke in serving as the director of basketball operations for head coach Mike Krzyzewski from 2002 to 2008 and the program’s academic and recruiting coordinator from 1999 to 2002. Schrage was involved in all aspects of the program’s administration, including scouting, scheduling, camps and planning. In Durham, Schrage was part of Duke’s 2001 national championship run with two Final Fours. While at Duke, Schrage spent time as video coordinator for the USA Basketball Senior National Team at the 2006 World Championship games in Japan and the 2007 Tournament of America in Las Vegas.
Schrage graduated from Indiana in 1998 with a degree in kinesiology and served as a four-year student assistant for then-Hoosiers men’s basketball head coach Bob Knight. After graduation, he spent the 1998-99 season as a director of basketball operations for head coach Rod Barnes at Ole Miss.
