Record at Canisius: 70-58 (.547) - Fourth Year
Overall Record: 459-427 (.518) - 29th Year
MAAC Record: 42-32 (.568) - Fourth Year
 
Canisius named Jim Baron the 23rd head coach in program history April 2, 2012.
In his 28-year head coaching career, Baron has won 459 career games, has posted nine 20-win seasons and he’s taken 11 teams at four different Division I schools to the postseason.
Baron won his 450th career game at the Division I level on Dec. 19, 2015 when Canisius defeated Boston University 84-68 at home.
By helping lead Canisius to the 2015 CIT, Baron is the first coach in program history to lead the Griffs to the postseason in each of his first three years at the helm of the Blue and Gold.
Baron is the first Canisius coach in program history to lead the program to three-straight winning records in MAAC play after last year’s team posted an 11-9 MAAC record.
Prior to coming to Canisius, Baron served as the head coach at Rhode Island for 11 seasons, where he posted 184 total wins with six postseason appearances (all 20-win campaigns) and led the team to a four-week stint in the Associated Press Top-25 poll during the 2007-08 season.
Baron was the head coach at his alma mater, St. Bonaventure, from 1992-01, and he led the Bonnies to their first NCAA appearance in 39 years when the team played Kentucky in the 2000 NCAA Tournament First Round.
In all, Baron has been named the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year four times. Only former Temple head coach and Basketball Hall of Famer John Cheney has won that award more than Baron.
He got his first head coaching job at St. Francis (PA) in Loretto, Pa. He coached the team to the 1991 NEC championship and 1991 NCAA Tournament, the Red Flash’s only NEC crown and NCAA Tournament berth.
Baron served as an assistant coach for nine seasons at four different schools, including his alma mater, St. Bonaventure. He was a member of Digger Phelps’ staff at Notre Dame for 1981-87.
The Brooklyn, N.Y., native got his coaching career started at Aquinas High School in Rochester, N.Y.
Baron won four varsity letters at St. Bonaventure as a player, where the team went 72-38 in four years.
As a senior captain in 1977, Baron helped lead the Bonnies to a 24-6 record and the 1977 NIT Championship.
Baron coaches both of his sons, Jimmy and Billy at the NCAA Division I level. Jimmy Baron ended his career as the top 3-point shooter in Atlantic 10 history after his career at Rhode Island, and Billy Baron was named the 2013-14 MAAC Player of the Year and an Associated Press All-America selection after his senior season at Canisius.
Baron’s sons currently play for Proximous Spirou in Charleroi, Belguim. They are joined on that team by former Canisius power forward Jordan Heath.
Baron is one of 13 Division I head coaches in NCAA history to have the honor of coaching two or more of his kids at the D-1 level.
Baron is active in numerous charitable groups, including the American Cancer Society Coaches vs. Cancer program and Camp Good Days and Special Times.
He is a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) International Coaches Group.
Baron has been active in the international basketball scene during his coaching career. He served as the head coach for the Panama in the 1992 FIBA Americas Basketball Championship in Portland, Oregon. In that tournament, Baron led his Panama squad against the original Dream Team.
Baron’s college rosters have often had an international flavor, as he has recruited and coached student-athletes from numerous countries, including Argentina, Cameroon, Canada, Columbia, Dominican Republic, Kenya and The Netherlands. His current roster at Canisius features six foreign-born players, including four Canadian-born players.
He has been inducted into the St. Bonaventure Hall of Fame and the New England Basketball Hall of Fame as well.
Since coming to Canisius, Baron has inserted himself in the Buffalo community, stressing to local youth groups and boy’s clubs the importance of “Books and Basketball”.
His stance on strong academics is not just for the local youth in the Buffalo area - he also stresses school work with his players as well. In his head coaching career, all but two of his former players that played for him for four seasons have earned their undergraduate degrees.