Mick Durham will begin his fifth season in charge of the Yellowjacket men’s basketball program in 2022-23.
Durham led the Yellowjackets to the GNAC Championships during the 2021-22 campaign, going 13-15 overall and posting a 9-8 record in conference games.
The 2020-21 men’s basketball season was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, MSU Billings went 2-0 in two exhibition games played in spring 2021.
In the 2019-20 season, the Yellowjackets finished 11-17 overall and ninth in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Under Durham's guidance, sophomore Brendan Howard was named second team all-conference.
Durham was named head coach on March 28, 2018 and led the Yellowjackets to a record of 15-14 overall in 2018-19, and a fifth-place finish in the GNAC standings at 10-10 in league play. MSUB earned a trip to the GNAC Championships for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign as the fifth seed.
Durham, a native of Three Forks, Mont., and alumnus of Montana State University, was the head men’s basketball coach at the University of Alaska Fairbanks from 2011-2018, which competes against MSUB as a fellow member of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference.
Durham was named the GNAC co-Coach of the Year in 2012, after leading Alaska to a second-place finish in the GNAC standings and an appearance in the GNAC Championships semifinals. Two years ago under Durham’s guidance, the Nanooks reached 15 conference wins for the first time in program history, and their 22 total victories were second-most in school history. The Nanooks advanced to the GNAC title game and narrowly lost to NCAA Final Four opponent Western Oregon.
Before his time at Alaska, Durham served as assistant coach at New Mexico State University for three seasons after 16 years as head coach of the Bobcats. While at MSU, Durham was named the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year three times (1996, 2002, 2005), and led his team to conference titles in 1996 and 2002. His tenure as head coach came after eight years as assistant coach for MSU, where he competed from 1974-79. Durham is still fourth in MSU history with 362 assists and a free-throw percentage of 81.6.
Durham graduated from Montana State with a bachelor’s degree in 1979 and a master’s degree in 1980 following a successful Bobcat career as a point guard. Durham finished his career with 901 total points and 362 assists. Durham is fourth in MSU history in assists and free throw percentage (.816), and he ranked second in both categories when he graduated.
He and his wife, Donna, have three children: Casey (played for his dad at Montana State), Mikaela and Kobey.
