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RICHMOND, Va. — Richmond Athletics and men’s basketball head coach Chris Mooney have agreed to a contract extension, vice president and director of athletics John Hardt announced Tuesday. Mooney, who led the Spiders to their first Atlantic 10 regular season championship last season, is entering his 20th season with Richmond. Terms of the extension were not disclosed.
“Chris is one of the most successful and respected coaches in college basketball and has been a tremendous ambassador for our University and Department of Athletics for more than a generation,” Hardt said. “It has demonstrated the ability to adapt to major changes in college athletics in recent years, and Spiders everywhere told me how proud they were of our team’s accomplishments and character last season. I look forward to this coming year and many more. with Chris leading our program.
Mooney earned Atlantic 10 and NKeynoteUSA District 4 Coach of the Year awards and was named a finalist for the Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award in 2024 after leading UR to a program-record 15 wins in conference play and an Atlantic 10 regular-season title, the first for Richmond since joining the conference in 2001. His 348 wins at Richmond are a school record and the third-most by a head coach in Atlantic 10 history , only behind John Chaney and Phil Martelli. Mooney won a pair of A-10 tournament championships (2011, 2022) and a regular-season championship with the Spiders, while leading UR to 10 postseason appearances, including three NCAA Tournaments and four trips to the NIT.
“I would like to thank my family, my players, my fellow coaches, John Hardt, Kevin Hallock and Spiders around the world for all their support over the past few seasons in the face of truly significant changes in the college basketball landscape.” Mooney said. “Together, we have been able to maintain Richmond as one of the best basketball programs in the country, even as the fundamentals of competing at the highest levels of the game have changed. I am grateful to have the opportunity to continue leading Spider basketball over the years. coming.”
Despite having eight newcomers on the roster, tying the most during his tenure in Richmond, Mooney and the Spiders won 23 games last year, tied for the sixth-most wins in program history. Richmond’s 11-game winning streak from mid-December to late January, the program’s longest since 1935, included a home win against 16th-ranked Dayton, Mooney’s school-record 16th victory against a team among the top 25 in UR. The Spiders received votes in the KeynoteUSA Top 25 poll twice and finished 15-1 at the Robins Center, their best home record since the stadium opened in 1972.
Mooney will enter the 2024-25 season as the ninth-longest tenured coach in Division I, trailing only Tom Izzo (Michigan State), Greg Kampe (Oakland), James Jones (Yale), Mark Few (Gonzaga), Randy Bennett (Saint Mary’s), Leonard Hamilton (Florida State), Bill Self (Kansas) and Scott Drew (Baylor).
CHRIS MOONEY ACHIEVEMENTS
• 2 Atlantic 10 Tournament championships, 1 Atlantic 10 Regular Season championship, 3 NCAA Tournament appearances, 10 postseason appearances (3 NCAA Tournaments, 4 NITs, 3 CBI)
• Reached the second round of the 2011 and 2022 NCAA Sweet 16 Tournament.
• 8 seasons with 20 wins, 12 winning seasons, 14 seasons with .500 or better
• 348 wins are the most in Richmond history and the third most in A-10 history
• 175 conference wins are fourth most in A-10 history
• One of 11 coaches to win multiple A-10 tournament championships; 2 A-10 tournament championships are tied for 5th among any coach
• 2 A-10 tournament championships are tied for 2nd among all schools during his tenure (Temple – 3)
• Richmond and Saint Louis are currently only A-10 schools with multiple A-10 tournament championships and three NCAA tournament victories during his tenure.
• Owns 16 of the 31 wins against the top 25 teams in Richmond history
• 27 wins against power conference opponents (at least one in 15 of his 19 seasons)
• Reached the NIT quarterfinals three times (2015, 2017, 2021)
• Coached 31 players who went on to play professionally.
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