The University of Akron Athletics
Men's Basketball
- Title:
- Director of Basketball Operations
- Email:
- swm6@uakron.edu
- Phone:
- (330) 972-6282
Steve McNees is in his sixth season with the Zips staff, his third as the director of basketball operations.
McNees spent three seasons on the Zips' basketball staff before being named director of basketball operations on August 1, 2014, including a season as the interim director of basketball operations. He took over basketball operations duties from the late Dan Peters in December 2013 after Peters took a leave of absence to battle pancreatic cancer.
Before assuming his interim role, McNees spent the previous two-plus seasons as the team's video coordinator (2012-13) and an administrative assistant in 2011-12.
In his four seasons as a student-athlete with the Zips, McNees broke the school record for games played, appearing in 141 of 142 possible games. He helped Akron to two Mid-American Conference Tournament titles and two NCAA Tournament appearances (2009, 2011), an NIT appearance (2008) and a spot in the 2010 College Basketball Invitational. He was a part of the class of 2011, which led UA to 94 wins, third-most by any class in program history.
McNees averaged 7.0 points per game (981 points) for his career and also set the school record for minutes played in a season (1,135) during the 2010-11 campaign. He connected on 221-of-638 3-point attempts (34.6 percent) and had 318 assists to just 178 turnovers. His 318 total assists rank seventh in the Akron record book. McNees was named to the MAC All-Freshman team (2007-08) and the MAC All-Tournament team as a sophomore (2008-09).
After his senior season, McNees traveled to Austria to play basketball but returned to Akron to pursue a career in coaching, following in is father's footsteps.
McNees, a 2006 graduate of Shenango High School in New Castle, Pa., earned a bachelors in sports management from Akron in 2010 and completed his masters work in Sports Administration while concluding his playing career (2011).
