Winning is synonymous with women’s college basketball coach Mark Kellogg after another 25+ win season at West Virginia University, but none of the success he’s had would’ve been possible without his first stop at Fort Lewis College.
Kellogg is one of the most accomplished current Division I women’s basketball coaches. He holds a head-coaching career record of 523-143 (79% winning percentage) and has a winning record in all 21 of his seasons as head coach. Kellogg has been to the NCAA Tournament in five of the last six seasons, including the past one with West Virginia, where the Mountaineers went 28-7 overall and made it to the second round.
But 21 years ago, Kellogg was a 29-year-old first-time head coach for the Skyhawks entering the 2005-2006 season. Seven seasons later, he left the FLC program in a spot it has never been before and hasn’t been since. Kellogg has the best overall winning percentage and winning percentage in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference of any basketball coach at FLC.
The Skyhawks won at least 26 games and had no fewer than five losses in Kellogg’s final five seasons. FLC made the NCAA Tournament in all five of those seasons, with the crowning achievement coming in the 2009-2010 season when FLC went 35-4 overall, won the RMAC, and made it to the national title game.
It’s quite the rise through the collegiate coaching ranks as Kellogg has gone from teaching multiple classes at FLC while coaching, traveling in a small van, to having a staff of 10 and playing in front of 14,000 people against Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
“I don't think I ever even allowed myself to go there,” Kellogg said about coaching at the Division I level. “You're just pretty present with whatever spot you're at with whatever opportunities are in front of you. As our success grew at Fort Lewis, you think, ‘Oh, maybe I need to test myself at another level.’ … I was wanting to be a coach at that time … It's (FLC) a special place to us with a ton of fond memories.”
When Kellogg got to FLC, he learned how to be a CEO of a program. He had one assistant to fundraise and recruit with. Kellogg felt blessed that he landed at a spot like Durango because once he got kids on campus for recruiting visits, the beauty of the campus and town sold itself.
The isolation of Durango was a blessing for a young coach because if the Skyhawks lost the game or he made a coaching mistake, there weren’t as many eyes on him. He wasn’t getting picked apart like he is if he messes up at the high Division 1-level. Kellogg coached against elite coaches in the RMAC while he was at FLC.
Kellogg wasn’t too nervous to take over at FLC. After his head coach at Montana State was let go, he knew he wanted his own program. His pressing style on defense, which he still uses at West Virginia, started at FLC. He has five to eight plays on offense at West Virginia that he ran when he was at FLC.
He only had seven or eight players in the rotation the first year at FLC, so he wanted the opposing offense to waste time in their backcourt against the press and not have 30 seconds of half-court offense. Now, Kellogg is doing it with some of the best athletes in the country at West Virginia.
“We recruited really well,” Kellogg said about FLC. “Our first real freshman class were the ones that ended up as seniors playing for the national title. So. we got the right kids. We all grew together … then we just kind of kept pumping even behind them, with really good players. But man, it worked. I just felt really confident with my abilities.”
Even with all the success, all the championships and trips to the NCAA Tournament, Kellogg remembers the life moments at FLC the most. Whether it was running the mile on the dirt track, getting stuck going over the passes, or hearing his players’ aspirations for their careers. Those relationships have turned into trips to weddings.
His two children were born in Durango, and he remembers dropping them off at the Campbell Center before work, and he doesn’t forget the rounds he played at Hillcrest Golf Club.
By the time Kellogg and the Skyhawks reached the end of the 2011-2012 season, Kellogg wanted more commitment from the school to match the level of success his teams were having. He remembered how he had to rent a small Mild to Wild van to go to the NCAA Tournament with a driver from Silverton while MSU Denver was taking two charter buses.
Kellogg didn’t want his frustration to overcome his love for Durango. He’s always thought if he could afford a second home, he’d love to get a place in Durango.
He left FLC for Division II Northwest Missouri State, where he spent a season before going to Division II West Texas A&M for two seasons. After that, he got his first Division I head coaching job at Stephen F. Austin in 2015, where he was until 2023. In hindsight, Kellogg said he wouldn’t have left FLC for another Division II job, but at the time, he didn’t feel confident in his Division I prospects.
“Alignment from the board to the presidential level, right to athletic director to coaches, when it all aligns, is when it works great,” Kellogg said about FLC. “We were in pretty good alignment for most of it … It’s so special there; it’s a beautiful place. There’s so much opportunity … We know it can be done. Just continue to have that vision, believe in it, keep working and keep pushing.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
