Winning big in both college football and men’s basketball has never been more difficult, especially as NIL and upcoming revenue sure ensure a battle for resources. Unlike the player-led professional game, though, coaches are the mainstays who keep programs afloat and competing year after year.
Having stability and talent at both coaching spots is a major luxury, one only emphasized with the departure of legends like Nick Saban and Mike Krzyzewski from the game. Since we debuted this list last season, the landscape has shifted dramatically. UConn basketball coach Dan Hurley won his second consecutive championship, making the Huskies a surefire factor. John Calipari left Kentucky and Jim Larrañaga retired at Miami, shaking up the case for both schools.
Just beyond this list, there’s a massive group of contenders waiting in the wings. The SEC’s basketball resurgence means Florida and Georgia suddenly factor into the conversation. Outstanding young coaches, like those at BYU and Louisville, have great cases but need to replicate quick success. One year from now, the list could look very different. But heading into the 2025 NCAA Tournament, these are the top 10 college football/men’s basketball coaching combinations in the country.
1. Kansas: Lance Leipold/Bill Self
2024 rank: 1
The Jayhawks narrowly hang onto the top spot, but the race is closer than ever. In the past year, Self has lost his stranglehold on the No. 1 coach spot and took a pair of preseason No. 1 teams to underwhelming seasons. Leipold also failed to build on a breakout nine-win season, though the Jayhawks finished the year strong. Still, Self is the most accomplished coach in the sport with more than 800 wins and two national titles. Leipold took the worst program in FBS and already made it so 5-7 was a disappointment, following up a dazzling run at Buffalo. We’ll give KU a mulligan, but next year must go better.
2. Alabama: Kalen DeBoer/Nate Oats
2024 rank: 3
Oats continues to elevate his stock as one of the best coaches in college basketball after leading the Crimson Tide to the first Final Four in program history. In six years, he has two SEC regular season titles, two SEC tournament titles and five straight NCAA Tournament appearances. DeBoer’s first season at Alabama had ups and downs but still ended on the edge of the expanded College Football Playoff. Nominally, it was the worst season of his coaching career with a 9-4 record — but that says more about his storied coaching career. This combo is on the way up.
3. Iowa State: Matt Campbell/T.J. Otzelberger
2024 rank: 9
Good coaches can put together a run; great ones can do it again. After leading Iowa State back to the Big 12 title game in 2024, Campbell officially belongs with the greats. Campbell led Iowa State to 11 wins for the first time in program history. Otzelberger has been a game-changer since taking over a 2-22 Iowa State squad in 2021. He has a pair of Sweet 16 runs with a Big 12 Tournament title sprinkled in. Most exciting — the coaches are both under 50 and seem content in Ames. It’s a golden era, Cyclones fans, don’t take it for granted.
4. Tennessee: Josh Heupel/Rick Barnes
2024 rank: 7
Heupel found success faster than anyone could have expected, posting 30 wins in his last three seasons with an appearance in the College Football Playoff. It’s the most wins over a three-year period at Tennessee since 1998 when the Vols won a natty. Barnes just keeps chugging along in Knoxville, capturing a pair of SEC regular season titles and reaching an Elite Eight. The pair have brought unbelievable steadiness to Tennessee.
5. Clemson: Dabo Swinney/Brad Brownell
2024 rank: NR
The Tigers were on the cusp of the list last year, but a strong showing by both coaches helped cement their spot in 2025. Two-time national champion Swinney found a second wind, capturing his ninth ACC championship and returning to the College Football Playoff. Even at his worst, Swinney is easily a top-five coach. Fourteen seasons into his tenure, Brownell suddenly elevated himself into the elite of the ACC. Clemson reached an Elite Eight last season and surprisingly elevated themselves to 18-2 in conference play in 2025.
6. Oregon: Dan Lanning/Dana Altman
2024 rank: 6
The Ducks stayed steady as Lanning lived up to lofty expectations in Year 3. The Ducks earned the No. 1 overall seed in the first 12-team CFP and a Big Ten championship with an undefeated 13-0 record in the regular season. Lanning is perhaps the best coach in the country under the age of 45. The older Altman had a resurgence during his first year in the Big Ten, posting a 24-8 record. Altman has 15 straight 20-win seasons and has won a postseason game every year, including a Final Four in 2017.
2024 rank: 5
It’s difficult to perfectly rate Smith after a 5-7 record in his first year with the Spartans, but leading Oregon State to 25 wins over three years in the Pac-12 still counts for a lot. And as he transitions in, Izzo has been happy to take the mantle. Michigan State fielded its best basketball team since 2019 with a Big Ten title run. And even without 2024, his Hall of Fame resume is off the charts. Not many coaches are still thriving at 70, but Izzo is one of the greats.
8. UConn: Jim Mora Jr./Dan Hurley
2024 rank: NR
Yes, two-time national champion Hurley paces this choice, but there’s some darn good football being played in Storrs. Mora took over a flailing Huskies program and led them to a pair of bowl games, the best run since the collapse of the Big East. UConn went 9-4 and beat North Carolina in the Fenway Bowl. Hurley had a frustrating 2025 but still lords above the rest of college basketball after his consecutive titles, with another chance to go on a run. And, by the way, we don’t even get to factor in legendary women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma’s greatness.
9. Baylor: Dave Aranda/Scott Drew
2024 rank: NR
If this was the 2022 season — when Baylor won both the 2021 basketball title and 2022 Sugar Bowl — this pair would have a case for No. 1. However, the last few years have leaned a little inconsistent. Drew is still considered one of the sport’s elite coaches after winning a tourney game in five straight years, including the 2021 title. He rebuffed Kentucky last season and is set to produce his sixth first-round pick in five years. Aranda should rocket back up coaching lists after a resurgent 2024 season that ended on a six-game regular season winning streak. The Bears are poised to be one of the preseason Big 12 favorites.
10. Houston: Willie Fritz/Kelvin Sampson
2024 rank: 8
Sampson, 69, only seems to be getting better. After transitioning Houston to the rough-and-tumble Big 12, the Cougars went a combined 34-4 with back-to-back conference championships. Houston has reached at least the Sweet 16 in five straight NCAA Tournaments, including Elite Eight and Final Four trips. Fritz takes a slight knock after a 4-8 transition year in his first campaign at the power conference level, but the Cougars are positioned well to take a step in his second season and vault back up the list.
Fell off the list: Kentucky, North Carolina, Miami
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