Charlotte Alumnus And Basketball Coach Kyle Church Wins A National Championship
By: LUKE ZAHLMANN
The trip from Indianapolis to Charlotte is nearly 600 miles, but roots have a way of stretching from wherever they’re planted.
Standing under the confetti, the Churches watched the pinnacle of a career that began in Green and White and extended to Maize and Blue. The sidelines are where Robbie Church once patrolled, as the head coach of Charlotte’s women’s soccer program. Now in the stands, with a sterling career of coaching in his rearview, he looked ahead to the next generation of the family’s lineage: his son, Kyle.
Intertwined history put both into Lucas Oil Stadium on Monday, where Michigan outlasted UConn in the NCAA Championship — the program’s first on the hardwood since 1989 and second overall.
“The moment was really special; it was a product of all the hard work that Kyle has put in,” Robbie said. “Since he left Charlotte, when he graduated, he went to Ole Miss as a graduate assistant, and he’s been on this journey as a basketball coach ever since. These are not easy to win, especially in a high-profile sport like men’s basketball; they’re not easy to win at all.
“When the clock was ticking down, there was just a special feeling that he had reached one of his goals as a coach to win a national championship.”
The fruits of Kyle’s labor were obvious, if unstated. In his general manager role, he helps lead roster construction, piecing together both the financials of modern college basketball and the talent that paid off with a title. As an assistant coach, too, his role depends on the day, but like the rest of Dusty May’s staff, his impact is felt on offense, defense, and everything in between as part of the staff’s communal efforts.
It showed in the chemistry of Michigan’s starting five, each of whom began their careers elsewhere before finding a home in Ann Arbor.
Rewind to days in Halton Arena, past the court, down the hall, and into the basketball offices, the blueprint was being laid.
“Growing up in North Carolina, basketball is always a big deal,” Kyle said. “I found out around eighth grade that making the NBA wouldn’t be in the cards, but Bobby Lutz was an assistant at the same time my dad was coaching at Charlotte, and he allowed me to walk on and be part of the team when I graduated high school.
“That really kicked off my coaching journey.”
Church had his moments in the spotlight with the 49ers, even if playing time was sparse. He hit his first collegiate shot: a 3-pointer on the deck of Assembly Hall against Indiana, the first of 33 appearances in four years with the program.
His greatest impact on the team, though, began midway through that span after a conversation with Director of Operations Ron Perron, now the head coach at Catawba.
“I worked closely with Rob; he was on staff with Coach Lutz and then some with Alan Major,” Church said. “He oversaw the managers and the graduate assistants, and he started to let me help cut up film and help work on projects in the offices.”
That experience led to Church’s next step: a graduate assistant role at Ole Miss. One year later, he moved on to Louisiana Tech.
“When he went to Louisiana Tech, I had a conversation with him about how hard it was going to be to coach, and the hours that go into it,” Robbie said. “I asked, ‘Is this really what you want to do?’ And you just saw him put his heart and soul into it. He’s worked extremely hard at it, and I think when you have a work ethic and passion like that, you have a chance to accomplish anything you want.”
May, spanning two staffs after his original coach was let go at Louisiana Tech, and Mike White was brought in, was making a name in coaching, just a few steps ahead of Church on the road.
“You don’t see that often. I think he saw something in Dusty that is obvious to everyone now,” Kyle said of the retention.
The two bonded, becoming friends through coaching — May as an assistant, Church as a graduate assistant still trying to rise the ranks. When White was hired at Florida, both joined his staff, with May remaining an assistant and Church stepping into a Director of Basketball Operations role.
May’s first head coaching job at Florida Atlantic sparked the next rise for Church from director of operations to the Owls’ assistant coach. From there, their paths have remained aligned.
The two didn’t meet in Charlotte, but it proved a necessary step to making sure they intersected paths one day.
Now it’s Robbie who found out how far the roots had stretched, driving back to North Carolina from Indianapolis with the Church family after witnessing Kyle’s career take another drastic step forward — a step Robbie neared so many times in his collegiate coaching career, including multiple No. 1 rankings and NCAA College Cup appearances at Duke, but never quite reached.
If he taught Kyle anything, though, it’s that the destination is hardly the most significant part of coaching.
“You have families, children, parents, and grandparents who sacrifice to make coaching possible,” Kyle said. “There’s so much more to it than just winning a title. It’s an incredible moment, seeing your family and all the families involved get that moment to see the hard work pay off; even making the tournament is incredibly difficult, but it’s fleeting.
“It’s about enjoying the process and loving to coach — not just for the results, but for the impact it can have.”