With the appointment of former Big 12 and Southeastern Conference Assistant Coach Chris Ogden, men's basketball is poised to rise to the top in the 2018-19 season. He is the eighth head coach in the program's nearly 60-year history.
A Texas native, Ogden played for Head Coach Rick Barnes at the University of Texas and served on his staff for a combined 13 seasons there and at the University of Tennessee. He spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach under Head Coach Chris Beard at Texas Tech University.
"Starting with his playing days, Chris has been a winner. I look forward to him helping us continue to guide our men's basketball team to greater heights."
"Starting with his playing days, Chris has been a winner," says Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Jim Baker. "I look forward to Chris helping us continue to guide our men's basketball team to greater heights."
In college, Ogden played in four straight NCAA championship tournaments and a Final Four. As a coach, he has been to numerous NCAA Tournaments, recruited some of the country's top classes, and developed several NBA first-round draft picks.
During his 15 years at UT Austin, Tennessee, and Texas Tech, Ogden helped lead teams to 11 total NCAA Tournament appearances, including three regional finals.
"I am extremely honored to serve as the head men's basketball coach at UTA," Ogden says. "I have dreamed of having the opportunity to lead a program in my home state. UTA has an excellent reputation as a world-class institution, and I look forward to building on the program Coach Scott Cross developed. We will operate this program in a manner that our supporters expect—with class, hard work, and success on and off the court."
