Rolland Todd

Rolland Todd

College Basketball Champion | College & NBA Head Coach | 2023 Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee

Rolland Todd nicknamed “Mod Todd” was born on June 26, 1934, in Tulare County, California.

Standing at 6’4, Todd played the guard position and played college basketball for the College of the Sequoias. He played basketball for the Giants, and he helped them win a state title in 1953. He later played for California State University for the Fresno State Bulldogs. In his senior year, he led the Bulldogs to a 19-8 record and won the California Collegiate Athletic Association championship for the 1957-58 season. After graduating college, Todd played for the Buchan Bakers of the National Industrial Basketball League (NIBL) and the Akron Goodyear Wingfoots, also part of the NIBL at the time.

In 1960, Todd signed with the St. Louis Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in June 1960 but was placed on waivers before the start of the regular season, never having played a game for the Hawks. Todd then signed with the San Francisco Saints of the American Basketball Association, who rebranded to the Oakland Oaks until the team folded in 1962. In his two seasons with the ABA, Todd averaged 10 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists in a total of 77 games between the 2 teams.

After a 4-season playing career, Rolland Todd transitioned into coaching college basketball and served a season and a half for the Portland Trail Blazers as their head coach.

In 2023, he was inducted into the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame.

  • Overall Coaching Record: 137-137

Coaching Career

Rolland Todd started his coaching career as an assistant coach under his former teammate and roommate Jerry Tarkanian for the Riverside City College basketball team.

Coach Todd became an assistant coach under Robert “Bob” Oldham and later under Bill Sharman for the Cal State Los Angeles Golden Eagles of the California State University.

Coach Todd was named the head coach of the Runnin’ Rebels basketball team of the University of Nevada in Las Vegas. In 5 seasons as their head coach, he had an overall coaching record of 96-40.

Coach Todd became the first ever head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers in 1970. In his first season, the team finished with a 29–53 record, missing the playoffs. The following season, Coach Todd had a 12-44 record before being fired and replaced with Stu Inman, who finished with a 6-20 coaching record, missing the playoffs.

During his tenure with the Blazers, Sports Illustrated nicknamed Coach Todd “Mod Todd”.

Notable Players Coached

Coach Todd became the head coach of the basketball team at Santa Ana College where he would spend the last 7 years of his coaching career before retiring.