Jeff Culver enters his seventh season as Head Coach for the Johnson & Wales University Men’s Basketball program, and his 5th year as Director of Athletics. Under his leadership, Johnson & Wales University has made tremendous strides with not only the Men’s Basketball program, but also within the department of Athletics as a whole.

During the 2010-11 season, the Wildcats won their third straight A.I.I. Conference Championship and earned their third consecutive berth to the NAIA National Invitational.

The 2009-10 season saw the Men’s Basketball program take another step forward.  The Wildcats broke a school record for most wins in a season by winning 17 contests.  Another A.I.I. Championship led the team to a second trip to the NAIA National Tournament in as many years.  JWU dominated the A.I.I. Conference accolades as Coach Culver repeated as A.I.I. Coach of the Year, four Wildcats were named to the All-Conference team, and Andrew Baker and Matt Fisher won A.I.I. Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year respectively.

The 2008-09 Men’s Basketball season was a great success, as the team made it to NAIA Nationals for the second time in only six years of existence at the varsity level. The Wildcats claimed an automatic bid to Branson, Missouri by winning the A.I.I. tournament. Four JWU players were named to the A.I.I. All-Conference team, and Coach Culver was named A.I.I. Coach of the Year. This marked the first Coach of the Year honor for any varsity sport on the JWU-Denver campus. The Wildcats’ 15 wins came against one of the toughest schedules in all of NAIA. JWU-Denver does not give out athletic related scholarships, but still competes against heavily aided programs within the NAIA, as well as local NCAA DII and DI programs.

“We are very proud of the direction of our Men’s Basketball program,” coach Culver stated. “It took us a few years to build the foundation, but we have been rewarded for our patience and persistence.”

On the administrative side of things, the JWU-Denver Department of Athletics has seen many positive changes since Coach Culver took over the A.D. reigns. On the list of changes are a new logo & color scheme, addition of women’s volleyball as a varsity sport, elevation of men’s and women’s cross country to varsity status, renovation of the Wildcat Center athletics facility, the addition of two full-time positions within the department, and four trips to NAIA National Tournaments (Men’s Volleyball also gained a berth in 2009 and 2011).

“The progression of the Athletics department has been very similar to the growth of the Men’s Basketball program,” Culver explained. “Both successes can directly be attributed to the focus on our Four C’s.” Culver is alluding to the Departments’ commitment to its pillar standards of Character, Competition, Community, and Career.

Coach Culver, a 1995 graduate of the University of Michigan, came to Johnson & Wales after serving as an assistant coach at the University of Northern Colorado for two years.

At UNC, Culver’s main responsibilities were player development, scouting, and film breakdown. He also assisted in recruiting, summer camps, and game management. UNC was in the final stages of transferring from Division II to Div. I, and their 2004/05 opponents included Syracuse, Oklahoma, Gonzaga, and 7 other programs that participated in post-season play.

Prior to his two years at UNC, Culver served as an assistant operations manager at Colorado State University in 2002-03. While with the program, the Rams had a 19-14 record, won the Mountain West Conference Tournament, and gave Duke all they could handle before losing 67-57 in the first round of the 2003 NCAA Tournament.

From 2001 to 2003, Culver served as the head boys' varsity coach at Alexander Dawson High School in Lafayette, Colo. Coach Culver started his coaching career at Alexander Dawson in 1998, coaching the 7th grade Mustangs.