Kevin Hovde

Biography

Kevin Hovde was hired as the 24th head coach of Columbia men’s basketball in March 2025. Hovde (HUV-dee) returned to the Lions after helping the University of Florida Gators win a National Championship in 2025 as an assistant coach. He served on Kyle Smith’s staff at Columbia from 2011-16. In Hovde’s first season at the helm of the Lions in 2025-26, Columbia went 16-12 and secured the program’s first winning campaign in 10 years. The Lions had the eighth-best rebounding margin in the country and ranked inside the top 35 nationally in offensive rebounds per game and rebounds per game. In 14 Ivy League games, Columbia led the conference in offensive rebounds. Eight of Columbia's wins came by 15 or more points. Hovde earned his first-career victory in his debut as head coach at New Haven on Nov. 7, 2025. On Jan. 4 in the Ivy League opener, Columbia erased a nine-point second half deficit in a 104-99 victory at Cornell. It was just the second time Columbia ever scored 100 points on Cornell and the first time Columbia scored over 100 points in an Ivy League game since Feb. 6, 1993, vs. Harvard. It also marked the first time Columbia scored over 100 points in a road Ivy League game since Feb. 19, 1972, at Harvard. On Nov. 26, the Lions scored 106 points at Fairfield, marking their first 100-point game against a Division I opponent since Nov. 15, 2010 (108 vs. Maryland Eastern Shore) and their first on the road since Dec. 8, 2009, at Wagner. Columbia shot an impressive 62.5 percent

Career Path