[2] He attended Texas Tech University, where he played on the Red Raiders basketball team for head coach Gerald Myers.
The 1985–86 Red Raiders team won the SWC Classic, and Benford was named "Most Outstanding Player" in the conference tournament.
Later he served as an assistant with the Arizona State Sun Devils and the Nebraska Cornhuskers before joining the Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball team in 2008 as an assistant coach under Buzz Williams.
[8] Benford was named interim head coach at LSU towards the end of the 2018–19 season.
Conference tournament champion *Benford served as interim head coach of LSU for the final five games of the 2018–19 season after Will Wade was suspended.