A former Division I basketball coach and in-state athletic director, Michael Grant joined the UNA athletic staff as Associate Athletic Director for Championship Resources on October 1, 2025.
Grant oversees the daily fundraising efforts of the athletic department and will work closely with both athletics and the UNA Foundation staff.
Grant is no stranger to college athletics with over 35 years in the profession. He recently served as the Vice President and Director of Athletics, Recreation and Wellness at Talladega College in Alabama from July 2022 to December 2023, helping with the strategic development, fundraising, public relations and program oversight efforts of the athletic department.
Prior to this, Grant had a long and successful career as a basketball coach, including head coaching stints at Coppin State, Southern, Central State and Stillman College. He also served in assistant coaching roles at Toledo and Samford. Grant was also the interim AD at Stillman while coaching.
“Michael Grant’s extensive experience as a head coach and athletic director brings invaluable perspective to our team,” said UNA Director of Athletics Dr. Josh Looney at the time of hire. “His leadership and deep understanding of collegiate athletics will help us sustain our momentum and elevate our championship resources strategy. We’re excited to welcome Michael and his wife, Charmane, to the UNA family and the Shoals community.”
Grant most recently held positions outside of college athletics, serving as the Regional Manager for Educators First and the President/Higher Education Consultant for MRG Consultants for two years. Grant was located in Atlanta for those positions.
The start of Grant’s coaching career came at Central State in Ohio, leading the basketball team to a 126-94 record that included two NAIA tournament berths and a Round of 16 appearance. He was a two-time coach of the year and helped elevate the fundraising efforts for the team. He coached there from 1996-2003 and also was the school’s head golf coach.
Grant’s first NCAA head coaching job came in 2003 at Southern University in Baton Rouge, La. He spent two seasons at Southern — both of which included winning records and conference tournament appearances.
In 2005, Grant took an assistant position at Toledo, then later became the head coach at Stillman College in 2008. His coaching stint at Stillman spanned six seasons and included a 100-73 overall record with one NCAA Division II Tournament appearance that ended in the Sweet Sixteen. The 2010-11 season under Grant saw Stillman finish with a 24-8 overall record, which was an NCAA single season wins record for the school at the time.
After six successful seasons, Grant took over at Division I Coppin State and coached three seasons. He ended his head coaching career with 277 victories, winning over 50 percent of his games.
Grant went on to assist the staff at Samford for one season, then moved into sales at BSN in 2019. He then moved from Birmingham to Atlanta and began work with Morehouse College as the Associate Athletic Director for Operations, then back to Alabama in 2022 to become the VP and AD at Talladega.
"I want to thank Dr. Josh Looney and Mr. Kevin Haslam for this great opportunity to serve here at UNA,” said Grant at the time of hire. “I look forward to working with all of our athletic staff, alums and the UNA community.”
Grant completed his Bachelor of Science degree from Malone University in Ohio in 1985. College athletics runs in the Grant family, as Michael is the father of Southland Conference Commissioner Chris Grant.
