Austin Ervin enters his third season as assistant coach of the IU South Bend men's basketball program.
Head coach Scott Cooper announced the hiring of Ervin on July 31, 2019 and helped the program reach milestones in his first year on the bench.
In 2020-21, IUSB was forced to shut down due to COVID-19 concerns from late November to early February after winning two games back on Nov. 24 & 29. The Titans were allowed to begin practicing again on Feb. 9 which allowed them to start competition on the first day of the CCAC Tournament Championship. IU South Bend punched its second-straight ticket to the NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship via the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference automatic bid with a 76-75 thrilling victory in the league's title game at top-seeded Olivet Nazarene, March 1.
The Titans earned its first national tournament victory in the 2020-21 NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship Opening Round, Presented by Ballogy after engineering a well-rounded performance in the Bracket-B first round contest. The Titans triumphed 82-71 over Rio Grande (Ohio) in their first game at the tournament in program history before falling to the No. 1 seed and host Indiana Wesleyan. IUSB concluded its unforgettable season with a 7-1 record and snapped its 15-game winning streak that dated back to Feb. 5, 2020.Â
The 2019-20 season was a season for the record books. With the help of Ervin, the Titans won their first ever CCAC Tournament championship after a thrilling come-from-behind victory at No. 4 Olivet Nazarene. The upset over a nationally-ranked opponent was also IUSB’s second consecutive victory over a top-10 opponent. The Titans were set to appear in their first NAIA DII National Tournament prior to the NAIA canceling winter championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic. IU South Bend ended the season on an eight-game winning streak to conclude the season at 25-8 overall and 16-6 during Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference play. Sophomore Miles Tracy was named to the CCAC second team squad.
Ervin joined the Titans coaching staff after being a two-sport NCAA Division I student-athlete at Central Michigan University. The St. Johns, Mich. native was a member of the Chippewa football and men’s basketball programs.
Ervin graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communications with a minor in sports management in May of 2019. As a member of the football program in Mt. Pleasant, Mich., Ervin played mainly as a tight end from 2015-17 before switching to basketball.
Under head coach Keno Davis, Ervin played primarily as a forward and saw action on 17 separate occasions. In his senior campaign, the Chippewas finished 23-12 overall, tying for the program’s second-highest single-season win total. It marked the fifth consecutive season in which CMU finished .500 or better. The Chippewas earned a postseason bid for the fourth time in the last five years by accepting a bid to the College Basketball Invitational.
