Ferris State University men’s basketball head coach Andy Bronkema, who led the Bulldogs to the NCAA Division II Tournament and the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Championship this past season, has announced the addition of West Michigan native Jimmy Booth to his coaching staff for the upcoming 2022-23 campaign.
Booth, who most recently has served since 2016 as the head coach at Muskegon Community College, will join the Bulldog coaching staff in a Basketball Analyst role and serve as an advance and internal scout in addition to assisting with practices and workouts, games and recruiting.
Booth will help fill a role on the staff following the retirement of former assistant coach Dave Schlump, who was his high school head coach at Cedar Springs and held the top role at Muskegon CC prior to his appointment with the Jayhawks.
“It’s not every day you can land a person who has been a head coach with his credentials in this role,” said Bronkema. “I’ve known Coach Booth for a long time and he’s been a big supporter of our program and will transition well to our staff. He’ll be a great addition.
“We’re thankful as well for the many years of service put in by Coach Schlump and all his efforts as a Bulldog,” he added. “We’ll cherish the great memories we had with him on our staff, including a national championship, and know he’ll continue to be a big supporter of both our program and Coach Booth.”
In addition to Booth’s appointment, assistant coach and FSU professor Bill Killian is expected to rejoin the staff this coming year with Bulldog Basketball alum Tom Lesko, who is now retired and residing in the area, stepping into a volunteer assistant role. Recently, the Bulldogs announced the promotion of alum Josh Fleming to the top full-time assistant position on Bronkema’s staff.
The 2020 Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan (BCAM) JUCO Coach of the Year, Booth led Muskegon Community College to 81 wins in his five seasons at the helm, including four championships and a runner-up effort. Muskegon CC won the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 12 title in both 2020 and 2022 while finishing as the runner-up in 2021. In addition, under Booth’s leadership, they claimed the MCCAA Western Conference and state title in 2020.
During his head coaching tenure, Booth coached a pair of NJCAA All-Americans and had two student-athletes tabbed as the MCCAA Western Conference Defensive Player of the Year along with one MCCAA Western Conference Player of the Year and one Western Conference Freshman of the Year recipient.
Along with being chosen as the 2020 BCAM JUCO Coach of the Year, Booth also received the Western Conference Coach of the Year honor in both 2020 and 2022 while being the state’s MCCAA Coach of the Year two years ago. He twice was named the NJCAA Region 12 Coach of the Year and the Region 12 District A Coach of the Year.
Under Booth, Muskegon broke a 74-year drought by winning the 2019-20 MCCAA State Championship, which was the program’s first since World War II. They also broke a 30-year drought by making it to the NJCAA Sweet Sixteen at the national tournament for the first time since the 1989-90 season in his tenure. He had players move on to four-year schools all over the country each season with the exception of the COVID campaign when all returned to complete their two-year eligibility.
A native of Cedar Springs, Booth played under Schlump during his prep career and later served as his assistant coach at Muskegon CC from 2012-16 before taking over the program when Schlump returned to FSU and joined Bronkema’s staff. Booth played four years of collegiate basketball, including a year at Muskegon CC along with three at Grace Christian University where he helped the squad to the 2006 NCCAA National Championship.
Booth earned a bachelor’s degree in religious education from Grace Bible College in 2009 and also holds a degree in business management from Davenport University along with a master’s degree in sports administration.
This past season, Ferris State claimed the GLIAC Regular Season Championship. Along with capturing the GLIAC’s regular-season championship this past season, the Bulldogs also earned their sixth NCAA Division II Tournament appearance in the last eight years and advanced to the Midwest Region Semifinals, closing the year with a 22-9 overall record.
https://www.ferrisstatebulldogs.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/releases/20220613jnur4a
