Eric Bridgeland arrived at the University of Redlands in the spring of 2020 as an esteemed NCAA Division III coach with 20 years of head coaching experience.

In his first full season in 2021-22, the Bulldogs went 11-12 overall and 7-8 in SCIAC. The Bulldogs reached the SCIAC Postseason Tournament after defeating Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) in Senior Night, 74-70. Their first-round matchup was on the road two days later at CMS. The Bulldogs held a lead in the second half before losing 73-69. Forward Romeo Mays was named to the All-SCIAC Second Team.

In his first season in 2020-21, due to COVID-19, the Bulldogs only played two official games, both against La Sierra with a 109-102 home loss and a 102-91 road loss.

Prior to Redlands, he led the Whitman College (WA) Blues to three Northwest Conference (NWC) titles and six runner-up finishes.  During the last five years, Whitman has qualified for the NCAA tournament each season and advanced to the Sweet-16, Elite-8, and Final Four.  His 2019 seniors graduated as the winningest class in NCAA Division III history, as they contributed to three undefeated titles in NWC action and a 67-conference game win streak.

In 12 seasons at Whitman, Bridgeland earned an impressive record of 245-87 (.738) and an NWC mark of 132-44 (.750%).  In addition, he owns multiple national, regional, and conference coach of the year awards.  His teams consistently land among the national rankings, as highlighted by the No. 1 spot on the D3hoops.com poll late in the 2017 season.

Prior to coaching at Whitman, he served as the head coach at the University of Puget Sound (WA) for five seasons.  After taking over a program that had one winning season in the previous nine, Bridgeland and the Loggers put together a stretch of three consecutive NWC titles, three NCAA appearances, and a No. 8 ranking.

Overall, Bridgeland has coached one national player of the year, 12 All-Americans, six conference MVPs, and 40 all-conference selections.  He also sent another student-athlete to the NBA combine as one of only five Division III players to be invited in the history of the league.

Before becoming a head coach, he grew professionally as an assistant coach at all levels of the NCAA, including Division I Pepperdine University, Division III Cal State Bakersfield, and Division III Lewis & Clark College (OR).

Outside of coaching, Bridgeland has gained experience with various NCAA basketball committees and organizations.  Furthermore, he makes it a priority to serve his community through local non-profits like Friends of Children Walla Walla, Christian Aide Center, YMCA, and more. 

His outreach also has resulted in impressive fundraising success through leadership camps, basketball clinics, golf tournaments, and general campaigning.

Originally hailing from Rockford, Illinois, Bridgeland attended the University of Manitoba in Canada.  As a member of the men’s basketball team, he completed his Bachelor of Arts in History and Psychology while becoming Manitoba’s all-time leading scorer in four seasons.  He was named the Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union (CIAU) Rookie of the Year and earned three All-Canadian nods.

Bridgeland went on to play internationally with the Canadian National Program for three seasons and then gained professional experience with the Winnipeg Thunder for one season.

He later completed his Master of Science in Psychology through the University of Phoenix.

Bridgeland and his wife Brianne have two children, Sydney and Ethan.