About BCAM

What is BCAM

WHAT IS BCAM?
January 2020

     The Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan was incorporated in the summer of 1976.  The purpose of BCAM was for the betterment of basketball in the state of Michigan.  Forty-two years later, BCAM has shown that it is the voice of basketball in Michigan.  BCAM has also gained respectability nationwide by being a leader in clinics, academic awards, scholarship programs, websites, awards for players and coaches, official – coach relationships, and as a policy setter for national concerns. 

    Our Mission Statement (1990) sums up what we are about and what direction we want to go.  The statement reads as follows: “As a united body, BCAM exists to represent and serve basketball coaches for the betterment of our great game!”

    We speak for and represent all basketball coaches in Michigan.  Never before has an association tried to unite junior high, senior high and college men and women coaches.  BCAM now has over 5650 members including over 500 lifetime members. In 1998, BCAM applied for and received federal tax-exempt status under 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. 

    The highlight of the year is the BCAM Fall Clinic / Hall of Fame Banquet (1984) held in the fall of each year.  The clinic draws from 800-900 coaches and the Hall of Fame Banquet averages between 250-400 people annually.  The clinic is a chance for coaches to learn from the top college and high school clinicians from around the country. Our Hall of Fame honors four coaches annually.  These coaches are selected for their years of service, coaching record and outstanding accomplishments in coaching and community service.  BCAM also honors up to twelve individuals who have been supportive of basketball even though they are not varsity coaches.  Our Hall of Honor (1992) falls into four categories:  Media, Friends of Basketball, Officials, and Assistant Coaches.  Our Hall of Honor has created much interest since it honors hard working people who usually go unnoticed. The Tom Hursey Distinguished Service Award (1994) honors individuals who have served BCAM in an outstanding manner over many years.  

    BCAM believes that one of our main purposes is to honor our member coaches.  We do this by having the membership nominate regional and state coaches of the year (1976).  These coaches are also honored at the Hall of Fame Banquet.  Boys and girls coaches are nominated for national honors (1976) sponsored by national coaches associations.  Other coaching honors include:  men and women college coaches of the year (1992) and Century Club Awards (1983) given to coaches who have 100, or multiples of 100, victories.

    The top individual award a high school basketball player can receive is our Mr. Basketball (1981) and Miss Basketball (1981) award given to the outstanding senior boy & girl player each year. These awards are sponsored by the United Dairy Industry of MI.   Michigan has a tremendous roster of former Mr. and Miss Basketball players of which we are very proud. Retro Mr. Basketball (2010) was started to honor those top players that preceded the start of our present Mr. Basketball award. A committee has been choosing those pre-1981 boys who would have been deemed Mr. Basketball if the award was presented at that time. The beautiful trophies are on display at the Crisler Center (University of Michigan) and the Breslin Center (MSU).

    Other player awards that BCAM selects are: all state teams {now called BCAM’s Best} (1982) (160 boys & girls honored), and top shooter awards for free throw shooting and three-point shooting (1995) (individual and team awards honor approximately forty players and teams). 

    For 33 years BCAM sponsored an All-Star Festival. Over that time thousands of seniors participated. It was decided that the Festival be suspended (2013) due to the difficulty of finding a summer date that players could work into their busy schedule. Many of the top players were committed to summer school at the college they would be attending.

    BCAM has always been interested in promoting academics throughout the state.  We have honored the top student/athletes with our Academic All State (1988) teams.  Over 150 boys and girls are selected for our individual academic all-state teams.  Approximately eighty high school teams are honored with our Team Academic All State program.  BCAM also selects men and women college student/athlete teams. New in 2018 is the Outstanding Senior Student/Athlete Award to honor high school players who have excelled on and off the court for four years. 

    In keeping with our interest in academics, BCAM annually gives out $7500 dollars in scholarships to sons and daughters of members (1988).  These 15 grants are determined by an outside source based on academic success, not athletic success. This program used to be underwritten by the Detroit Pistons, but now is funded by BCAM.

    BCAM has become associated with the “Coaches vs. Cancer” program (1999). BCAM donated $2000 initially and with the help of individual donations from member coaches, will continue to support the program annually. A Coaches vs. Cancer committee (2003) has been formed that will help promote fund raising through BCAM members. January fund raising events are promoted by BCAM. BCAM has helped raise thousands of dollars statewide over the past years. We started a summer golf scramble (2009) to support Coaches vs Cancer. In August 2013, our golf outing raised $35,000 to fight cancer. We have put this golf outing on hold due to circumstances beyond our control. BCAM also donates to the Wes Leonard Heart Team Fund (2012) which is dedicated to placing AEDs in schools across Michigan. Wes Leonard was a high school basketball player at Fennville HS that died on the court after making the game winning shot. Wes experienced Sudden Cardiac Arrest. BCAM has also donated to the United Federation of Officials’ Reading Program.

    BCAM and the Michigan High School Athletic Association have partnered to develop the Top 100 Reaching Higher Showcase (2009) for underclass student/athletes who aspire to play college basketball. One hundred-plus boys and 100+ girls are selected to participate in a one-day clinic that includes skill stations, speakers and games. College coaches are invited to observe and evaluate these student/athletes. The Reaching Higher Showcase for 2017 was suspended due to the many requirements that the NCAA has instituted. The Showcase was brought back in 2018. In 2020, Team Camps were added on the boys’ side only to adhere to new NCAA and NFHS guidelines for division 1 recruitment for boys.

    BCAM, with the assistance from the MHSAA, sponsors a Hospitality Room at the Boys’ State Finals. Four to five hundred coaches, officials and their guests attend this function.

    We are involved with providing input concerning college recruiting.  As a result, we have developed a Position Paper (1997) concerning the recruiting of high school players.  BCAM has also developed a College Student-Athlete Recruiting Code (1997) for high schools to use as a guide to college recruiters.

    For the first time ever, the leaders of the Michigan AAU and BCAM came together to formulate a document that sets guidelines for AAU coaches. This committee adopted the name of the Michigan Youth Basketball Advisory Council (2000). These Rules and Recommendations will help solve problems involving AAU athletes and coaches who violate policies, procedures and rules of the MHSAA, AAU and BCAM.

    Because of the need to “Break Down the Barriers” that exist between coaches and officials, BCAM and basketball officials have been meeting to develop guidelines for improving relationships (2001). This committee is called the Basketball Officials and Coaches Communications Committee (BOCCC). It has developed a Position Paper that lists recommendations that will lead to their objective of improving the relationship between officials and coaches. This position paper is endorsed by BCAM, official associations and the MIAAA. The Michigan High School Athletic Association and BCAM have been working together to promote improved sportsmanship among schools and individuals. The two organizations, with the help of the BOCCC, have produced videos (2006) to be used at the MHSAA Rules Meetings that promote good sportsmanship between coaches, officials, players and fans.

     The Top 100 Sportsmanship Award (2010) was added. This program honored the top 100 girls’ basketball schools and top 100 boys’ basketball schools based on good sportsmanship during the regular season (schools must have a varsity coach as a BCAM member). Basketball officials will use the MHSAA Feedback System that will evaluate sportsmanship of players, coaches, fans and administration. The top 100 girls’ and 100 boys’ schools will receive a banner honoring them at the beginning of the next season. This program was eliminated in 2019, due to the lack of consistent official ratings statewide.

    In an effort to promote teamwork, BCAM has begun a Team First Award (2017). The award will be given to one player on every varsity team that exhibits a “team first” attitude. That player puts his/her team before themselves with teamwork, commitment, service and sacrifice.

    Another new feature that BCAM has instituted is our “Year in Review” (2011) booklet that is mailed to all our members. It is an accumulation of all our awards that were given out in the previous school year.      

    A mentoring program (2003) has been developed by BCAM to help new coaches deal with the many concerns that they must face. Experienced coaches will be serving as mentors to younger coaches. It is BCAM’s hope that this program will encourage young coaches to stay in the profession. We are in the process of producing a document for first year coaches.

    The Coaches Assist Program (2009) is financial assist program is available for BCAM members who find themselves in a catastrophic financial situation. If a BCAM member is facing financial hardships due to events beyond their control, there is a fund available to help this member.  

    BCAM partnered with the high school sports TV show State Champs (2015). Topics include: Top teams, MR/MISS Basketball and state tournament previews. In 2018, the basketball show coverage was expanded statewide by including a weekly podcast.

    Our membership is kept informed of our many activities by our Monthly Newsletter (2008) sent via email to all members. It also can be found on the BCAM website. This Monthly newsletter replaced a quarterly newsletter that was mailed to members.

    BCAM is one of the charter members of the National High School Basketball Coaches Association (NHSBCA) (2011). This association will represent high school coaches across the country. Representatives from BCAM have played a major role in the formation of the NHSBCA.

    The BCAM website (1998) (www.bcam.org) continues to grow as a service to members. Each year more information is available to members. The website will continue to grow as an important communication link for BCAM members. Awards and nomination forms are also available to members online. Coaches can register, vote and nominate online. Clinic registration is now done online (2009).

    Throughout recent years (1989-17) we have added corporate sponsors to help with our finances.  The present companies are Rawlings Sporting Goods, United Dairy Industry of Michigan, Adidas, HUDL, Gatorade, Meijer, Shoot-A-Way, Team Sports, Baron Rings and Clell Wade/Coaches Insider BB.  Their financial support, in return for our endorsement, has helped BCAM to expand its programs while keeping our dues low.   

    It is the policy of BCAM to support all levels and areas of basketball.  Therefore, we have adopted a non-discriminatory policy (1991) which states:  “It is the policy of the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan that no person shall on the basis of race, color, national origin, sexual orientation or handicap, be excluded from selection, be denied nomination or admission to, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity.”

    The Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan is alive and well. It is well respected among schools, communities, other associations in Michigan, and other associations around the country.  We will continue to support the sport of basketball, the players, and the coaches as much as our resources will allow. 

Note:  Years in parenthesis indicate year program started. 

For more information go to www.bcam.org or contact Dan Young (Executive Director) at danyoung@bcam.org