About Tommy Amaker
Few turnarounds are as measurable as the one Tommy Amaker has led at Harvard. When he became head coach of the men's basketball program in 2007, Harvard had never won an Ivy League championship. Across 19 seasons through 2025-26, he has delivered seven Ivy League titles and eight postseason berths. In 2026 his staff earned Ivy League Co-Coaching Staff of the Year honors as the Crimson returned to the Ivy League Tournament.
Amaker's philosophy is captured in three words: Teach. Lead. Serve. "Everything that I've tried to share and drive home at any point, my guiding force, is really around those three words," he explains, "to not just speak it, but to live by it every day." He believes a team's most important work happens off the court, or beyond the "94 by 50" dimensions of the game. His monthly THE Breakfast Club mentoring series connects student-athletes with guests from academia, public service and business; in 2022, former President Barack Obama joined the group. "He wanted to meet our players, speak to them and share some thoughts and words of wisdom about winning the long game," Amaker recalls.
Tommy's Keynote Topics
A setback is a setup for a comeback. Rejection leads to a new direction. Failure is inevitable, and if you’re doing things right, it’s repeatedly inevitable. With these insights, this fascinating presentation by Harvard men’s basketball head coach Tommy Amaker, the winningest coach in Crimson history, demonstrates how hard moments that impact us most – both individually and societally – can be the most transformative, leading us to become more innovative, strategic and resilient. Through real-world case studies and personal examples of failure and comeback, Amaker teaches attendees the art of authentic leadership, including how to embrace failure, recover quickly, be a great teammate, and bounce back as a stronger, more resilient team than before.
Throughout his career, Harvard men’s basketball head coach Tommy Amaker has seen leaders with a single-minded focus: winning. The winningest coach in program history, he’s found the most character-building progress made by his team has been off the court, particularly through building trust and collaboration. In this eye-opening presentation, Amaker unveils his thoughtful, intentional approach to team building and continuous learning that allows players to feel supported by both leadership and teammates. Attendees will learn what it takes to foster an environment that values diversity of perspective and experience that can inspire both individual and collective improvement in any kind of organization.
Good teams have good players, but great teams have great teammates. That core tenant is woven into the Harvard men’s basketball program led by head coach Tommy Amaker. An expert on driving individual and group performance, Amaker inspires leaders and managers with his teacher-first approach for building two-way trust and two-way communication in any team. Winning teams need effective, honest communication and to come to the table without egos. Amaker uses an engaging personal storytelling approach to show that leaders who are inspirational and effective lead by example, caring more about the good of the team than being consumed with who gets credit. He’ll illustrate the amazing things that can be accomplished by teaching participants how to leverage their best skills as individuals for the greater good of an organizational team.
Harvard University has been around for more than 380 years. But when Tommy Amaker arrived to lead the men’s basketball program, he had his own ideas and assembled a team that could execute a new, more diverse and inclusive vision. For Amaker, success is measured not just on the court, but beyond “the 94 by 50.” In this engaging presentation, he’ll walk attendees through a framework of how to take a start-up mindset and apply it to established organizations. Amaker uses personal stories and real-world case studies to illustrate the value of building relationships and a community of support that accelerates progress and inspires a continuous growth-mindset that can be applied in any organization.
Tommy in the Media
Tommy Amaker Aims to Bring Harvard Basketball Back to March Glory
Harvard Men’s Basketball Prevails Over Cornell for Coach Amaker’s 300th Win
Great Teammates Make Great Teams
The Breakfast Club Continues to Offer Lessons Beyond the Court
How the Celtics’ Jaylen Brown Found Community at Harvard ($)
Men’s Basketball’s Amaker Earns JOY Luminary Leader Award
At Harvard, Tommy Amaker Weaves a Narrative of Success Beyond Basketball, but Is Anyone Noticing?
Men’s Basketball Locker Room to Bear Tommy Amaker Name
Harvard Men’s Basketball Locker Room to Bear Amaker’s Name, Thanks to Gift That is First in Ivy League
Tommy Amaker Inspired Howard’s Kenny Blakeney as a Player, and Continues to Do So as a Coach ($)
The Grandfather of Black Basketball
Obama Tells Harvard Team Basketball Was About More Than Him
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