After 17 years with the Samford basketball program — nine of those spent as the women’s head coach — coach Mike Morris was thrilled at press time that his girls were headed to Auburn to play Florida State on March 20 in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
“We all have such a feeling of fulfillment and satisfaction,” Morris said.
“It’s great, because at Samford we can recruit kids with such great character, but who are also competitive at sports and work hard to win.”
Basketball has been close to Morris’ heart since childhood. In fact, he attributes his college education to the sport.
Without the basketball scholarship Morris earned, he said it would have been difficult to afford his two years at Jefferson State Community College in Birmingham and two years playing Division II ball at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
“Coming through high school, basketball was the only thing I was really good at,” he said.
“Playing basketball really opened doors for me.”
Those doors eventually led him to an assistant coaching job at Berry College in Rome, Ga., where he met someone from the Samford basketball coaching staff and eventually became a Bulldog himself. Now there’s no place he’d rather be.
“As a Christian, I love being at Samford,” Morris said.
“It’s not like I have to preach to the kids — they can see how your faith is important. They’re able to see how your relationship with Jesus impacts your decisions, and I can be open about that relationship at Samford.”
And, according to Samford President Andrew Westmoreland, Morris’ faith and integrity are evident in all he does.
“To know coach Morris is to know a man who is committed to faith, family and the well-being of his student-athletes,” Westmoreland said.
Morris and his wife, Melanie, are members of Dawson Memorial Baptist Church, Birmingham, along with their two children: 18-year-old Peyton and 14-year-old Paige, both Homewood High School students. Peyton will be a Samford freshman in the fall, and Morris can’t wait for his son to be a part of the Samford community.
“As you can imagine, our students are thrilled that the team is going to the national tournament,” Westmoreland said. “With our talented student-athletes, a great coaching staff across all sports, a strong commitment to academic success and a winning attitude, I believe that our athletic program is poised to reach new heights.”
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