While attending Madisonville North Hopkins High School, Ford's team lost to Marshall County, led by future Vanderbilt signees Aaron Beth and Dan Hall, in the state quarterfinals.

Ford was named to the All-SEC team his junior and senior years, and was recognized as the Southeast Region's Most Outstanding Player in the 1993 NCAA tournament.

After an unsuccessful attempt at an NBA career, Ford landed the role of Danny O'Grady in the 1997 movie The 6th Man, starring Marlon Wayans and Kadeem Hardison.

He accepted the position, and in 1999 led the Tigers to a 28–3 record, earning Mid-South Conference Coach of the Year honors.

In a much publicized first-round NCAA Tournament matchup with his alma mater, the University of Kentucky, Ford's team pushed the Wildcats to the limit before losing 72–64.

After earning a #4 seed in the postseason National Invitation Tournament, UMass defeated Alabama before losing in the second round to eventual NIT champion West Virginia.

These rumors were put to rest when after the season on April 10, 2007, UMass announced that Ford had signed a five-year contract extension.

Despite the team's postseason success and the previous year's contract extension, Ford would leave the next season for Oklahoma State.

Big 12 player of the year James Anderson was instrumental in both wins and became Travis Ford's first Cowboy to be selected in the first round of the NBA draft.

Travis Ford had three key players announce their return for the 2013–14 season in Marcus Smart, Lebryan Nash, and Markel Brown.

[5] Due to a lack of talent from the previous regime, SLU was predicted to finish dead last of the Atlantic 10 conference during the 2016–17 season.