Dean Ellis

Head Coach, Men's Basketball and Golf
E-mail: dellis@nmu.edu
Telephone: 906-227-2106
At NMU Since 1985

Dean Ellis is the winningest coach in school history with a 340-252 record. He reached that level with a 66-54 win over Saginaw Valley on Jan. 29, 2005. Two nights earlier, Ellis won his 300th game against Lake Superior State (74-64).

Ellis is tied  in all-time tenure with the 'Cats, with C.B. Hedgcock with 22 years as head coach (Glenn Brown is third with 18). Ellis' .571 winning percentage is also third-best among NMU coaches who were at the helm for at least 50 games.

In the last 15 years, Ellis has led NMU to a 248-177 record, a winning percentage of .583. During that period, the ’Cats have made 11 appearances in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference post-season tournament, won their first-ever GLIAC post-season championship, qualified three times for the NCAA II Great Lakes Regional Tournament and have had four seasons of 20 wins.  His teams have won GLIAC titles in 1976-93-99-00.  The 1999-00 squad also captured the GLIAC Tournament.

In addition to the 1999-00 team qualifying for the NCAA II Great Lakes Regional Tournament, the 1998-99 team (21-8) and the 1992-93 team (22-8), also made playoff appearances.

The 1992-93 squad set numerous team records and won its first outright GLIAC title. That year, Ellis was selected GLIAC Coach-of-the-Year.

Ellis served as Brown's assistant for three seasons and helped guide the Wildcats to the NCAA II playoffs in 1985.

In 1993, he became a two-sport coach at Northern Michigan, taking over the responsibility of the men's golf team. An excellent golfer, he won the Upper Peninsula men's amateur championship in 1981, as well as the club championship at Wawonowin Country Club (Ishpeming) in 1995.

In addition to his coaching duties, Ellis is director of NMU's summer basketball camps and has served as a coach and counselor at several summer basketball camps throughout the state. He instituted the popular Young Wildcat Basketball League, a Sunday youth league.

A native of Negaunee, Mich., where he was a standout athlete, Ellis also earned three letters in basketball and four in golf at Southwest Missouri State University. He transferred to Northern Michigan where he completed work on his bachelor's degree in 1983.

He and his wife, Lois, are the parents of David and Daniel.