[4] Ford then signed to play at Villanova University, sat out his first year as required at the time, and then quickly established himself, averaging 16.1 ppg, helping the team advance to the regional finals of the 1970 NCAA tournament, losing to St. Bonaventure 97–74, with the Bonnies led by 26 points by Bob Lanier, a future teammate of Ford with the Detroit Pistons.

[5] Villanova and Ford continued their winning ways, advancing in the 1971 NCAA tournament to the championship game, losing to UCLA and legendary coach John Wooden 68–62.

In his senior year, Ford averaged a stellar 17.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg, again helping lead Villanova to the 1972 NCAA tournament, with the team losing in the regional semi-final to Penn 78–67.

Ford established himself as a defensive oriented regular for Detroit, helping lead the team to four straight post-season berths (1974–1977).

[9] Ford also appeared as a member of the Detroit team in the fictional basketball comedy film The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh in 1979 alongside the Pistons teammates Bob Lanier, Eric Money, John Shumate, Kevin Porter, and Leon Douglas.

Ford became an assistant coach with Boston, first under KC Jones and then Jimmy Rodgers, helping the Celtics to NBA championships in 1984 and 1986.

The 1990 NBA playoffs was a disaster for Rodgers, in which Boston lost in the First Round after winning the first two games that saw him fired two days after the series ended.

[13] Despite a back injury to Bird that saw him miss a quarter of the season, the Celtics won 56 games to be the #2 seed and make the postseason for the twelfth straight year.

Less than three months later, during a workout in trying to get back in shape to play for the following year, Lewis had a sudden cardiac death on the court due to a heart defect with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

"[14][15] He was fired on August 26, 1998, with team owner Herb Kohl stating, "Chris Ford has in many respects done a good job.

[16] On January 13, 1999, after four months in the interview process, Ford was hired as head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers on a three-year deal; the other major coaching candidate in Jim Brewer was retained as an assistant focused on team development (the team was among the youngest in the league) such as their recent #1 draft pick Michael Olowokandi.

[19] In October 2001, Ford was named head coach at Brandeis University, a Division III school in Waltham, Massachusetts.