I attempted to use every method possible for selecting the most verified account for all ~345 Division-I head coaches using a combination of Google searches and Twitter User searches. Still, there are some oddities, like Thad Matta, who seems to have several accounts, none of which seem genuinely verifiable. Still, I pulled together here the 188 coaches whose accounts I came across and ranked them by followership, as of sometime on Friday, Aug. 31.
Some things I noticed: Most of the high major conferences were very well represented on Twitter by their coaches, with only a couple here and there missing, while conferences like the Ivy, the Southland and Mountain West were fairly barren. About 50 percent of mid-major coaches are on Twitter.
A lot of accounts are locked, which affects followership, and some coaches, like Coach K and Bill Carmody, have never tweeted, which also affects their numbers here.
John Calipari, of course, blew everyone else away, and Jim Christian might want to change his handle.
Use ctrl+f to search for a name/team/handle. Joomla didn't like the twitter links, so those had to be removed. Just copy/paste the listed handles, and you can follow any of the coaches below.
Please email me at HorizonLeagueHoops [ at ] gmail.com if you see a handle that is missing or is incorrect. This was a pretty huge undertaking, so there are no doubt some errors.
Edit 9/6/2012: Apparently Tom Izzo doesn't actually do Twitter, but Alan Major (Charlotte) and Scott Cross (UT-Arlington) do, so the list is now at 189.
Edit 9/13/2012: According to one of his staff members Josh Pastner is the actual tweeter behind @UofMTigersHoops, so he moves way up the list.
1 Kentucky Wildcats – John Calipari @UKCoachCalipari 1,203,136
2 Indiana Hoosiers – Tom Crean @TomCrean 83,915
3 Florida Gators – Billy Donovan @UFCoachBillyD 75,507
4 Kansas Jayhawks – Bill Self @CoachBillSelf 53,881
5 South Carolina Gamecocks – Frank Martin @FrankMartin_SC 26,505
6 Butler Bulldogs – Brad Stevens @BUCoachStevens 23,460
7 Central Michigan Chippewas – Keno Davis @CoachKenoDavis 23,134
8 Nebraska Cornhuskers – Tim Miles @CoachMiles 22,976
9 Memphis Tigers – Josh Pastner @UofMTigersHoops 22,143
10 VCU Rams – Shaka Smart @coachsmartvcu 22,113
11 Tennessee Volunteers – Cuonzo Martin @CuonzoMartin 20,516
12 West Virginia Mountaineers – Bob Huggins @CoachHuggs 17,069
13 North Carolina State Wolfpack – Mark Gottfried @Mark_Gottfried 16,806
14 Louisville Cardinals – Rick Pitino @Rick_Pitino 14,957
15 Xavier Musketeers – Chris Mack @CoachChrisMack 14,620
16 Michigan Wolverines – John Beilein @JohnBeilein 13,744
17 Kansas State Wildcats – Bruce Weber @coachbruceweber 12,416
18 Minnesota Golden Gophers – Tubby Smith @CoachTubbySmith 11,903
19 Iowa State Cyclones – Fred Hoiberg @ISUMayor32 11,644
20 Maryland Terrapins – Mark Turgeon @CoachTurgeon 11,264
21 Georgia Bulldogs – Mark Fox @coachmarkfox 10,811
22 Arkansas Razorbacks – Mike Anderson @MikeAndersonUA 10,654
23 Oklahoma Sooners – Lon Kruger @LonKruger 9,672
24 Penn State Nittany Lions – Pat Chambers @Coach_Chambers 8,930
25 Missouri Tigers – Frank Haith @FrankHaithMU 8,925
26 Mississippi State Bulldogs – Rick Ray @RickRay1 8,804
27 Villanova Wildcats – Jay Wright @VUCoachJWright 8,499
28 UCLA Bruins – Ben Howland @Ben_Howland 8,347
29 Notre Dame Fighting Irish – Mike Brey @NDMikeBrey 8,288
30 Pittsburgh Panthers – Jamie Dixon @CoachDixon 8,066
31 Baylor Bears – Scott Drew @BUDREW 7,657
32 Cincinnati Bearcats – Mick Cronin @CoachCroninUC 7,622
33 Creighton Bluejays – Greg McDermott @cucoachmac 7,150
34 Miami Hurricanes – Jim Larranaga @CanesCoachL 6,998
35 Arizona Wildcats – Sean Miller @UACoachMiller 6,874
36 Auburn Tigers – Tony Barbee @CoachTonyBarbee 6,247
37 Texas A&M Aggies – Billy Kennedy @Coach_Kennedy 6,244
38 UNC Greensboro Spartans – Wes Miller @CoachWesMiller 6,137
39 Illinois Fighting Illini – John Groce @JohnGroce 5,959
40 Arizona State Sun Devils – Herb Sendek @HerbSendek 5,905
41 Rutgers Scarlet Knights – Mike Rice Jr. @CoachMikeRice 5,560
42 St. John's Red Storm – Steve Lavin @STJCoachLavin 5,560
43 Purdue Boilermakers – Matt Painter @CoachPainter 5,526
44 Washington Huskies – Lorenzo Romar @CoachRomar 5,366
45 Texas Tech Red Raiders – Billy Gillispie @Billy_Gillispie 5,235
46 UNLV Rebels Dave Rice – @CoachDaveRice 4,991
47 Florida State Seminoles – Leonard Hamilton @FSUCoachHam 4,853
48 DePaul Blue Demons – Oliver Purnell @CoachPurnell 4,844
49 UMass Minutemen – Derek Kellogg @CoachKellogg 3,994
50 Oklahoma State Cowboys – Travis Ford @OSUCoachFord5 3,883
51 Murray State Racers – Steve Prohm @CoachProhm 3,769
52 Portland Pilots – Eric Reveno @CoachReveno 3,743
53 Washington State Cougars – Ken Bone @Ken_Bone 3,527
54 South Florida Bulls – Stan Heath @Coach_Heath 3,504
55 Tulsa Golden Hurricane – Danny Manning @CoachDManning 3,500
56 Rhode Island Rams – Dan Hurley @dhurley15 3,281
57 UNC Wilmington Seahawks – Buzz Peterson @BuzzPeterson 3,170
58 Hofstra Pride – Mo Cassara @Coach_Cassara 2,954
59 Winthrop Eagles – Pat Kelsey @patkelsey 2,827
60 USC Trojans – Kevin O'Neill @Coach_KO 2,766
61 Boston College Eagles – Steve Donahue @Coach_Donahue 2,748
62 Eastern Michigan Eagles – Rob Murphy @robmurphyEMU 2,703
63 Santa Clara Broncos – Kerry Keating @SCUHoops 2,645
64 Central Arkansas Bears – Corliss Williamson @ucaCoachCorliss 2,483
65 SMU Mustangs – Larry Brown @LarryBrownSMU 2,420
66 Marshall Thundering Herd – Tom Herrion @CoachTomHerrion 2,356
67 San Francisco Dons – Rex Walters @USFBBallCoach 2,338
68 South Dakota State Jackrabbits – Scott Nagy @CoachNagy 2,261
69 Oregon State Beavers – Craig Robinson @OSBeav_CoachRob 2,227
70 North Carolina Central Eagles – LeVelle Moton @LeVelleMoton 2,029
71 Florida Atlantic Owls – Mike Jarvis @coachmikejarvis 1,970
72 Dayton Flyers – Archie Miller @Archie_Miller 1,870
73 Seton Hall Pirates – Kevin Willard @KevinWillard 1,812
74 UAB Blazers – Jerod Haase @CoachJerodHaase 1,806
75 Robert Morris Colonials – Andrew Toole @AndyToole 1,798
76 Seattle Redhawks – Cameron Dollar @Coach_Dollar 1,663
77 Southern Miss Golden Eagles – Donnie Tyndall @coachtyndallusm 1,643
78 Long Beach State 49ers – Dan Monson @CoachDMonson 1,635
79 Tulane Green Wave – Ed Conroy @GreenWaveHoops 1,604
80 Towson Tigers Pat Skerry – @CoachPatSkerry 1,595
81 George Washington Colonials – Mike Lonergan @MikeLonergan 1,568
82 Texas–Pan American Broncs – Ryan Marks @CoachRyanMarks 1,547
83 Duke Blue Devils – Mike Krzyzewski @MikeKrzyzewski 1,483
84 Lehigh Mountain Hawks – Brett Reed @BrettReed 1,431
85 North Florida Ospreys – Matthew Driscoll @UNFBBALL 1,398
86 Fresno State Bulldogs – Rodney Terry @RodneyTerry 1,313
87 UCF Knights – Donnie Jones @DonnieJonesUCF 1,306
88 UC Davis Aggies – Jim Les @CoachJimLes 1,246
89 Jacksonville Dolphins – Cliff Warren @CliffWarren 1,238
90 New Mexico State Aggies – Marvin Menzies @MarvinMenzies 1,208
91 Western Carolina Catamounts – Larry Hunter @CoachLhunter 1,174
92 Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners – Rod Barnes @CoachRodBarnes 1,150
93 Cal Poly Mustangs – Joe Callero @CoachCallero 1,136
94 Wake Forest Demon Deacons – Jeff Bzdelik @WFCoachBuzz 1,093
95 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens – Monté Ross @CoachMonteRoss 1,074
96 UT-Arlington Mavericks – Scott Cross @CoachScottCross 1,065
97 Wright State Raiders – Billy Donlon @CoachDonlon 1,062
98 Utah Utes – Larry Krystkowiak @LKrystkowiak 982
99 FIU Golden Panthers – Richard Pitino @CoachPitinoFIU 943
100 North Dakota State Bison – Saul Phillips @SaulPhillips 934
101 NJIT Highlanders – Jim Engles @CoachJimEngles 906
102 Marquette Golden Eagles – Buzz Williams @buzzwilliams 879
103 Providence Friars – Ed Cooley @CoachCooleyPC 856
104 Ohio Bobcats – Jim Christian @TCUJimChristian 822
105 Georgia State Panthers – Ron Hunter @CoachRonHunter 809
106 Drake Bulldogs – Mark Phelps @CoachMarkPhelps 773
107 Northwestern Wildcats – Bill Carmody @CoachCarmody 749
108 Holy Cross Crusaders – Milan Brown @coachmbrown 747
109 Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers – Jamion Christian @JamionChristian 745
110 Kennesaw State Owls – Lewis Preston @KSUCoachPreston 741
111 Western Michigan Broncos – Steve Hawkins @BroncoBBall 707
112 UIC Flames – Howard Moore @Howard_Moore 692
113 Portland State Vikings – Tyler Geving @PSUCoachGev 691
114 Boston University Terriers – Joe Jones @BUCoachJones 686
115 Arkansas–Little Rock Trojans – Steve Shields @ShieldsUALR 677
116 Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs – Chris Holtmann @GWUhoopsCoach 671
117 Northern Colorado Bears – B. J. Hill @CoachBJHill 669
118 Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns – Bob Marlin @bobbymarlin 653
119 Niagara Purple Eagles – Joe Mihalich @JoeMihalich 645
120 Northern Illinois Huskies – Mark Montgomery @NIUCOACHMONTY 641
121 Northern Arizona Lumberjacks – Jack Murphy @NAUcoachMurphy 633
122 Albany Great Danes – Will Brown @UAHOOPSWB 628
123 Howard Bison – Kevin Nickelberry @coachknick 623
124 Syracuse Orange – Jim Boeheim @Jim_Boeheim 619
125 Morgan State Bears – Todd Bozeman @CoachBoze 566
126 Oral Roberts Golden Eagles – Scott Sutton @CoachSSutton 565
127 Florida Gulf Coast Eagles – Andy Enfield @CoachEnfield 532
128 Loyola Ramblers – Porter Moser @PorterMoser 529
129 Pepperdine Waves – Marty Wilson @MartyWilson4 524
130 Milwaukee Panthers – Rob Jeter @CoachJeterUWM 521
131 Oakland Golden Grizzlies – Greg Kampe @KampeOU 501
132 VMI Keydets – Duggar Baucom @duggarvmihoops 494
133 Detroit Titans – Ray McCallum @CoachMcCallum 494
134 IPFW Mastodons – Tony Jasick @TonyJasick 433
135 Louisiana Tech Bulldogs – Michael White @MikeWhiteLATech 416
136 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders – Kermit Davis @MT_CoachDavis 410
137 Longwood Lancers – Mike Gillian @MikeGillian 390
138 Savannah State Tigers – Horace Broadnax @CoachBroadnax 381
139 Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles – Steve Payne @TTU_StevePayne 379
140 Northeastern Huskies – Bill Coen @GoNUCoachCoen 378
141 Georgia Southern Eagles – Charlton Young @CoachSEEWHY12 354
142 Chicago State Cougars – Tracy Dildy @tradil3 339
143 East Tennessee State Buccaneers – Murry Bartow @MurryBartow 329
144 Illinois State Redbirds – Dan Muller @danmuller 326
145 Youngstown State Penguins – Jerry Slocum @YSUMensHoops 325
146 UTSA Roadrunners – Brooks Thompson @UTSACoachT 324
147 Evansville Purple Aces – Marty Simmons @AceCoachSimmons 312
148 Vermont Catamounts – John Becker @coachbeckeruvm 285
149 Binghamton Bearcats – Tommy Dempsey @tadempsey4 278
150 IUPUI Jaguars – Todd Howard @CoachToddHoward 258
151 Southeast Missouri State Redhawks – Dickey Nutt @semohoops 231
152 Princeton Tigers – Mitch Henderson @tigerhoopscoach 205
153 UMKC Kangaroos – Matt Brown @coachmattbrown 202
154 Rider Broncs – Kevin Baggett @CoachBaggett 198
155 Fordham Rams – Tom Pecora @CoachTomPecora 193
156 Liberty Flames – Dale Layer @coachlayer 191
157 Tennessee State Tigers – Travis Williams @TSUCoachWill 191
158 Wagner Seahawks – Bashir Mason @BashirMason 174
159 Charleston Southern Buccaneers – Barclay Radebaugh @CoachRadebaugh 170
160 Cal State Northridge Matadors – Bobby Braswell @coachbbras 156
161 The Citadel Bulldogs – Chuck Driesell @ChuckDriesell 155
162 Alcorn State Braves – Luther Riley @LutherRiley 142
163 ULM Warhawks – Keith Richard @ULMCoachRichard 142
164 William & Mary Tribe – Tony Shaver @TribeBasketball 133
165 Prairie View A&M Panthers – Byron Rimm II @Coach_Rimm 128
166 Stetson Hatters – Casey Alexander @CaseyAlexander_ 127
167 Southern Jaguars – Roman Banks @CoachBanks_SU 124
168 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils – Chico Potts @Chico_Potts 120
169 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors – Gib Arnold @gibarnold 118
170 Loyola Marymount Lions – Max Good @CoachGood 114
171 Lipscomb Bisons – Scott Sanderson @ScottHSanderson 96
172 Hampton Pirates – Edward Joyner @CoachJoynerHU 91
173 Charlotte 49ers – Alan Major @CoachMajor49 90
174 Eastern Kentucky Colonels – Jeff Neubauer @EKUCoach 88
175 South Carolina State Bulldogs – Tim Carter @coachtimcarter 78
176 Colgate Raiders – Matt Langel @Matt_Langel 69
177 Akron Zips – Keith Dambrot @CoachDambrot 54
178 East Carolina Pirates – Jeff Lebo @JeffLebo 43
179 Montana State Bobcats – Brad Huse @BradHuse 37
180 Iona Gaels – Tim Cluess @THOOPS 21
181 Saint Francis Red Flash – Rob Krimmel @rkrimmel 21
182 New Hampshire Wildcats – Bill Herrion @CoachBHerrion 19
183 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets – Brian Gregory @GTCoachBG 19
184 South Alabama Jaguars – Ronnie Arrow @RonnieArrow 8
185 Army Black Knights – Zach Spiker @Coach_Spiker 6
186 Utah Valley Wolverines – Dick Hunsaker @mightywolverine 3
187 Arkansas State Red Wolves – John Brady @CoachJohnBrady 3
188 Ohio State Buckeyes – Thad Matta @ThadMatta 1
189 Central Connecticut Blue Devils – Howie Dickenman @CCSUCoachD 1
