Story Courtesy John Ewen, Manhattanville Director of Athletic Communications
The Manhattanville University Department of Athletics and Recreation and Manhattanville’s Vice President of Athletics and Recreation Julene Caulfield has announced the full-time hiring of Romello Ford to serve as the next head coach for the Manhattanville University men’s basketball program.
“Truly blessed and thankful for this opportunity!”, Ford said. “I cannot thank the administration here at Manhattanville enough for the support this year and the trust they have in me to lead this program to new heights. I’ve been hitting the ground running ever since the season ended and I’m super motivated already to get back out there on the sideline.”
Ford added, “My main priority is to get high character and mature guys in the program who are obsessed with getting better. Not only do I want to create a winning culture, but to set a standard on our daily habits.”
Ford joined the Valiant family in 2024 as assistant coach under Chris Alesi, serving on the sidelines of Kennedy Gymnasium for the last two seasons. The Valiants earned 21 total wins during Ford’s first two years with Manhattanville, earning a berth in the 2026 Skyline Conference Championship Tournament as the No. 6 seed.
A native of Staten Island, Ford began his undergraduate collegiate career at Dominican College before transferring to John Jay where he was a two-year starter with the Bloodhounds. In the two years prior to the Covid-canceled 2020-21 season that would have been his senior year, Ford scored 455 points and tallied 170 rebounds, 88 steals and 194 assists.
Ford graduated from John Jay in 2021 with a degree in sociology and worked at Madison Square Garden as a guest experience representative and a financial counselor and data analyst specialist with Northwell Health prior to beginning his collegiate coaching career with the Valiants in 2024.
Ford will be graduating with a Master’s in sports business management from Manhattanville in May.
“I am very excited for the future of this program and cannot wait to see what the future holds,” Ford said. “We will need all the support from the students, fans, faculty and alumni along this journey!”
