Tony Duckworth
Director of Athletics

Tony Duckworth enters his second year as the Director of Athletics at Maryville University of St. Louis during the 2008 – 2009 academic year. He is the sixth Director of Athletics in Maryville’s history. This will be the 16^th year Duckworth has been involved in intercollegiate athletics including backgrounds in athletics administration (associate director of athletics, NCAA compliance, eligibility), NCAA and NABC national and regional committees, conference sport chair, head coaching, and assistant coaching.  

Duckworth will be leading the Saints into new territory as Maryville has been granted permission by the NCAA to enter Exploratory Year One as part of the reclassification process for its 13 intercollegiate sports from NCAA Division III to NCAA Division II effective September 1, 2008.  

Huntingdon College (Alabama) was the previous stop for Duckworth where he worked from 2001 – 2007 as the head men’s basketball coach while serving as Associate Athletics Director during the last three years of his tenure. During that time, he had the second most wins in college history which included his team winning both the 2006 GSAC Regular Season and Tournament Championships and Duckworth was named 2006 GSAC Coach of the Year. The 20 –7 season (2006-2007) marked the best winning% and most wins in 41 years while finishing 1^st in NCAA DIII in Defensive FG% (35.4%) which ranks first all-time in NCAA Division III history. The Hawks also won 13 consecutive games to end the season, which tied the school record from the 1961-62 season. Including the 2006-2007 season, Huntingdon had the best three consecutive seasons in 39 years (53 wins), including three consecutive GSAC Final Four tournament appearances – 2006 Champions. During that same span, Huntingdon had 23 road victories while winning 21 of their last 22 home games over two seasons in the Brick House. 

During the 2004-2005 season (17–10), Huntingdon Basketball finished third in the NCAA in Defensive FG% (37%), and sixth in the NCAA in Rebounding Margin (+9.3); while the 2003-2004 team (16–11) finished with the fifth Best Turnaround in NCAA DIII.  During the five years of membership in the GSAC, members of Duckworth’s program have been recognized - including: 10 All-Academic Team, six All-Freshman Team, one All-Region, and eight All-Conference  selections including the 2006 Player of the Year and 2007 Freshman of the Year.

Prior to Duckworth’s arrival to Huntingdon, he turned the Belhaven College (Mississippi) program around while being one of the youngest four-year college head coaches in the nation when he took over the program at the age of 28. His Belhaven squad made the 2001 NAIA DII National Tournament during his 4^th season at the helm while ranking first in NAIA DII in Rebounding Margin (+10.6). This was only the second national tournament appearance for the Blazers in their 46 years of intercollegiate basketball competition. During his last two seasons, Duckworth led the program to 25 consecutive weeks of being nationally ranked while winning 37 games over that span.  He also left the Belhaven program as the second winningest coach in school history after just four seasons, while coaching two All-Americans and two Academic All-Americans.

 Duckworth was the assistant men’s basketball coach and recruiting coordinator from 1992-96 at Covenant College (Georgia) an NAIA DII program. The three years Duckworth was the recruiting coordinator, he recruited four TVAC All-Freshman Team players and one transfer recruit was named an NAIA All-American. During the three seasons Duckworth was the recruiting coordinator, Covenant compiled 35 conference wins. 

Coach Duckworth also has international head coaching experience. He has led two American All-Star teams (1992 and 1996) to compete overseas in international competition in Costa Rica.

Duckworth is married to the former Amy Coverdell of Collinsville, Illinois. The couple has two sons Chaney (9) and Evan (7).  The Duckworth’s make their home in Wentzville, Mo.