North Central College athletic director Jim Miller ’86 has announced the hiring of Anthony Figueroa as the 19th head coach in the 120-year history of the Cardinals’ men’s basketball program.
“We’re excited to welcome Coach Figueroa to North Central after an outstanding coaching tenure at Parkland,” Miller said. “His teams have competed at a high level and he has a wealth of experience managing all the day-to-day responsibilities of running a program.”
Figueroa’s team at Parkland finished 23-8 this season, winning an NJCAA Central District Championship and advanced to the NJCAA Division II national tournament. In his 10 seasons as head coach, the Cobras went 221-79 and made two appearances in the NJCAA Elite Eight.
Also the assistant athletic director throughout his tenure at Parkland, Figueroa served as an assistant coach for CCIW rival Millikin University from 2008 to 2011 and for Lackawanna College (Pennsylvania) from 2004 to 2008.
“It’s a thrill to have this opportunity,” Figueroa said. “North Central College is a great academic instituion with a rich tradition of success in basketball, and the CCIW is one of the best conferences in the country.”
Figueroa has served as the men’s basketball chair for the Mid-West Athletic Conference (M-WAC) since 2018 and has been a member of the NJCAA Racial Equality Committee since 2020. He played collegiately at Chicago State University before transferring to Millikin, from which he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in computer science in 2000.
“At two-year institutions, you’re frequently tasked with managing nearly every facet of the recruitment process in addition to athletics,” Figueroa said. “I think the experience I’ve gained in those other functional areas will be a strength for me.
“I would like for our teams to be described as unselfish, disciplined and hardworking. We will try to create that atmosphere in everything we do.”
Miller has also announced that the rest of the Cardinals’ coaching staff will remain intact for the 2022-2023 season.
Figueroa’s tenure at North Central is set to officially begin June 1.
