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Colgate University Athletics

Brent Bassham

Brent Bassham

  • Title
    Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
    Recruits: Illinois (Chicago), Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and New York (Sections 3/10)
  • Email
    bbassham@colgate.edu
  • Phone
    315-228-7550
  • Alma Mater
    Western Michigan '08


Brent Bassham was named Colgate's football staff in 2014 where he started as a wide receivers coach. After serving the wide outs for eight years, Bassham stepped into the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach roles in 2021.

Bassham's offensive unit continues to pile up the credentials in his third year at the helm. This past season, Bassham’s offense was one of only two programs in the country to win at least two games with three different starting quarterbacks. Michael Brescia, Zach Osborne and Jake Stearney all won at least two games for the Raiders, aided by First-Team All-Patriot League wide receiver Treyvhon Saunders who caught the sixth-most passes in a season by a Colgate wideout in 2023. In addition, Bardhyl Gashi and Chance Niesner also landed on the All-Patriot League Second team last season. 

Bassham engineered a successful 2019 campaign for Colgate’s offense, an impressive feat considering no wideouts had caught a pass in their collegiate careers entering the season. The Raiders were led by wide receiver Garrett Oakey who caught 58 passes for 736 yards.
 
Owen Rockett earned 2018 All-Patriot League First Team honors under Bassham’s tutelage after leading the Raiders in both receptions and yards and breaking a 33-year-old Colgate record for yards-per-catch at 20.5. Thomas Ives also was named to the All-Patriot League Second Team for a second year in a row before signing with his hometown Chicago Bears.
 
Those efforts helped spur the Raiders to a second consecutive Patriot League championship, a 10-2 final record and ranking among the nation’s top 10 in both major polls.
 
Colgate in 2018 with Bassham’s assistance paced the conference in scoring offense at 27.0 and total offense at 344.3. The passing game spearheaded an offensive attack that kept getting better as the season progressed, scoring in succession during a six-game run 23, 27, 31, 38, 41 and 48 points. The Raiders also led the Patriot League and finished seventh nationally in time of possession at 32:57.

Bassham helped John Maddaluna III earn multiple All-Patriot League honors from 2014-16. Maddaluna three times was named to the All-Patriot League Second Team. He capped a terrific career in 2016 by leading the Raiders in both receptions and receiving yards. Maddaluna finished fifth at Colgate in career catches with 153 and sixth in career yards at 2,332.
 
Maddaluna went on to sign with the Atlanta franchise of the Alliance of American Football.

Bassham joined the Colgate coaching staff in July 2014 after spending more than a year as defensive quality control coach at Syracuse. Before his tour with the Orange, Bassham in 2012 was offensive coordinator and assistant head coach at NAIA-member Concordia (Mich.). Bassham helped Concordia set 32 offensive school records that season while overseeing the quarterbacks, receivers, tight ends, fullback and the punting unit.

He was selected as an offensive coordinator for the 2012 All-American Bowl, a multidivisional all-star game that took place in Minneapolis.

Bassham began his coaching career as a student assistant at his alma mater, Western Michigan University. He started in 2006 working with the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. In 2007-08, he moved over to support the defensive coordinator and secondary coaches as a graduate assistant while also assisting the recruiting coordinator.

The Chesaning, Michigan, product earned his undergraduate degree in physical education in 2008 and his master's degree in 2010, both from WMU.

Bassham is married to the former Candice Smith of Howell, Michigan. They are the parents of a son, Brayden.