Before serving as the Director of Basketball Operations at Florida Gulf Coast University, B.J. Ivey served in Sarasota County Schools as a teacher and coach at Riverview High School. During his 13 years as head coach at Riverview High School his teams won 270 games, 8 district titles and made 3 region finals appearances. B.J. was named "Boys Basketball Coach of the Year" by the Sarasota-Bradenton Herald Tribune in 2011, 2012, & 2016. Ivey also led The Rams to their only appearance in the State Finals in 2016. Ivey's programs produced 5 Sarasota and Manatee County "Player of the Year" winners and during this span he spent 8 years coaching Nike Team Florida in Nike's prestigious Elite Youth Basketball League. BJ Ivey also coached Adidas Team Florida, which went on to win the Adidas Gold Gauntlet league championship. All in all, he's had the opportunity to coach over 40 players that went on to play Division 1 Basketball in his time as a head coach.

 

As a teacher, B.J. Ivey was named the 2017 Sarasota County Teacher of the Year. He was also awarded the Shine Award by Governor Rick Scott for greatly impacting the lives of students in the classroom. The Baltimore Orioles recognized Ivey as their 2018 Community Hero and in 2020 he was inducted into the Southwest Florida Fellowship of Christian Athletes Hall of Fame.

 

B.J. was also a standout player at Riverview High School and graduated in 2000 before going on to play at the University of South Carolina – Aiken. Some of the player accolades and honors he earned along the way were:

• MVP of Riverview High's J.V. Basketball team in 1997
• Record for most points in a game at Bayshore's J.V. Holiday Classic with 37 pts vs. Venice High
• 3-Time Varsity Letterman at Riverview High
• Captain of Riverview Varsity Basketball Team (2000)
• District Champions 1997, 1998 and 2000
• WWSB Channel 40 Athlete of the Week in 2000
• 1999 Suncoast Holiday Classic All-Tournament Team
• FACA State North-South All Star Classic Team
• Suncoast Conference All Freshman Team (MCC)
• 2-Time Varsity Basketball Letterman at USC-Aiken

Bill Ivey was a highly successful high school, junior college, and four-year college coach for more than a decade. Following his coaching career, he held his own nationwide football and basketball coaching clinics which featured some of the top coaches in the nation, including:

Coach Mark Wade is a former professional basketball player who was drafted by the New York Knicks in 1986 and afterwards played professional basketball in Belgium for 14 years. Coach Wade earned Player of the Year in his 3rd season overseas and upon returning back to the U.S. he coached college basketball as an assistant coach at Saginaw Valley State and then as Director of Operations at Eastern Michigan University. Coach Wade grew up in Boston, Massachusetts, where he attended Boston Tech High School and was a two-time All-Scholastic Player and two-time City Champion. He was also named Mr. Basketball in the state of Massachusetts during his senior year and in college he was was a two-time Big Ten Champion.