The University of Toledo and head men’s basketball coach Tod Kowalczyk have reached an agreement that extends Kowalczyk’s contract through the 2027-28 season, Toledo Vice President and Director of Athletics Bryan B. Blair announced today.
“We are very pleased to extend Coach Kowalczyk’s contract,” Blair said. “Tod and his coaching staff have developed and maintained a culture at Toledo that has resulted in strong academic performances and four consecutive regular-season MAC titles. Even more impressive, they have done it with young men who represent all that is great about the University of Toledo. We are fortunate to have Tod leading our program for many years to come, and he and I are both committed to elevating our men’s basketball program to even greater heights moving forward.”
Kowalczyk has served as the Rockets’ head coach for the last 14 seasons and is currently on an incredible run that has resulted in UT becoming just the second program in Mid-American Conference history to win four consecutive league titles. Kowalczyk is one of five active coaches in the nation to win four consecutive outright league titles and ranks second on the school’s all-time victory list with 278 wins, trailing only legendary coach Bob Nichols (376 wins from 1965-87).
“I am extremely grateful to outgoing President (Gregory) Postel, Interim President Matt Schroeder, and Bryan Blair for their confidence in our program,” said Kowalczyk. “We have earned this contract extension due to the hard work of our outstanding assistant coaches and talented student-athletes, both on the court and in the classroom. Julie and I are thrilled to continue to call Toledo home, and we are profoundly thankful for the ongoing love and support of our community. We will strive to continue to be one of the top mid-major programs in the country and continue to bring more championships to Toledo.”
Kowalczyk’s coaching career at Toledo has been defined by consistent excellence. He has guided the Rockets to 20 or more wins eight times in the past 11 seasons and has 240 victories to his credit during that period – a total that surpasses all MAC schools. In addition to winning league titles the last four years, Kowalczyk has also guided the Rockets to MAC regular season or division crowns in 2012-13, 2013-14, 2017-18 and 2018-19. The 2013-14 team won a school-record 27 games, a win total that was later tied by the 2022-23 squad. He has led Toledo to seven post-season appearances and three berths in the MAC Championship Game.
Twenty-two of Kowalczyk’s players have earned All-MAC honors on 36 occasions, highlighted by Tre’Shaun Fletcher (2017-18), Marreon Jackson (2020-21) and RayJ Dennis (2022-23) receiving MAC Player of the Year accolades. In addition, Kowalczyk has coached three MAC Freshman of the Year recipients (Julius Brown, Ryan Rollins, Javan Simmons).
In addition to winning on the court, the Rockets have also achieved tremendous success in the classroom under Kowalczyk. The men’s basketball program registered its highest grade-point average ever with a 3.391 mark in the Fall 2022 semester and has posted a 3.0 GPA or higher in its last four semesters. In addition, the Rockets have received the National Association of Basketball Coaches Team Academic Excellence Award each of the last five years as well as eight of the last 10 seasons.
Prior to becoming UT’s head coach, Kowalczyk posted a 136-112 record in eight years as Wisconsin-Green Bay’s head coach. The Phoenix advanced to post-season play and notched back-to-back 22-win campaigns in his last two seasons. In addition, every player who completed their eligibility while Kowalczyk was Green Bay’s head coach received a degree.
A native of DePere, Wis., Kowalczyk and his wife Julie have two children, Race (17) and Rose (15).
