Lievense announces retirement as Head Basketball Coach at D2 Barton College

Ron Lievense has announced his retirement after 29 years as the Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Barton College, school officials announced today. Associate Head Coach Joel Zimmerman has been named Interim Head Coach for the 2025-26 season. Lievense, who has been at the helm of the Bulldogs since the 1996-97 season, leaves as the school’s all-time winningest coach, compiling a 518-314 mark as Barton mentor, including 10 seasons of 20 or more victories. Lievense led the Bulldogs to the 2007 NCAA Division II National Championship, a thrilling 77-75 win over top-ranked Winona State in Springfield, Mass., where the Bulldogs rallied from ten points down with 45 seconds left to take the crown. For his efforts, Lievense was named the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Coach of the Year. Under Lievense’s reign, Barton captured six Conference Carolinas regular season championships, four league regular season titles and earned seven berths to the NCAA Division II tournament. Lievense also led the Bulldogs to a pair of NCAA Division II Regional Championships in 2006 and 2007.

Courtesy of: bartonbulldogs.com