Coach Barnes' Philosophy

Brian Barnes entered his first year as Head Men’s Basketball Coach and Assistant Athletic Director for Sage College of Albany in 2008-2009. He led the team in their first varsity campaign in 2009-2010. The Gators produced a record of 7-18 overall and a 5-15 mark in the Skyline Conference. By season's end, Sage had produced the 2009-2010 Skyline Conference Rookie of the Year in Matt Farbotko.

In the Gators' second season, Sage garnered a spot in the 2011 Eastern College Athletic Conference Upstate Tournament. In the race for the 2011-2012 Skyline Conference Championship, Barnes' squad was picked to finish fifth in the race for the league championship, a program-first for the young Gators. Last year's team battled injuries and made a run at a spot in the Skyline Conference Tournament, but were edged out in the final days of the regular-season after a 10-15 campaign.

Prior to his arrival at Sage, Barnes spent three seasons at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as the top Varsity Assistant and Head Junior Varsity Men’s Basketball Coach.

During his tenure at Rensselaer, Coach Barnes assisted in the development of three all league players including the Liberty League player of the year in 2006. Barnes was the lead assistant on staff of the 2006-2007 Red Hawk team that received the Schoenfeld Sportsmanship Award for outstanding sportsmanship.

Rensselaer further utilized Barnes’ recruiting skills in adding him as a part-time Admissions Counselor in the spring of 2007. Barnes contributed to an Admissions staff that recorded the highest number of applications in school history the following spring.

Prior to Rensselaer, Brian worked as the Director of Basketball Operations at the University at Albany. He helped build the UAlbany Basketball program into an America East power, overseeing day to day operations, supervising team managers, organizing campus visits and managing the recruiting database.

Brian also served as the summer camp director for the UAlbany Boy’s Basketball camp, tripling the camp enrollment in just two summers. He has traveled around the country to coach and lecture at prestigious basketball camps such as Eastern Invitational and Five-Star Basketball Camp.

Barnes played four years of Division I basketball for the University at Albany and was named a tri-captain his senior season. He graduated Cum Laude from UAlbany in 2003 with a BA in Communications and went on to receive an MS in Educational Administration from UAlbany in 2005.