Early November means college basketball games are now for real. Even as these games get underway, we’re taking one last minute to finish up our series ranking all of the D1 head coaches in the country. We’ve been going through one conference at a time and including our national rankings from 365 to 1 and this time around it’s a conference with a whole new flair.
The UAC is a new name given to the remaining schools from the WAC mixed with a few additions from the ASUN. Put these programs together and add a few new names and you have a few very experienced coaches and a couple still trying to make their mark on the sport. The big question is who will stand out in year one of the UAC?
358. Eric Haut (Tarleton State) (Last year: N/A)
Overall record: 0-0
A guard during Kent State’s Elite Eight run back in 2002, Haut has bounced around as an assistant coach at the D1 level for the last two decades. In addition to a decade at his alma mater, he’s spent time with Western Kentucky, TCU, Northern Kentucky, and Utah State, serving as associate head coach for a great Aggies program the last two years. Haut now takes over for Tarleton State to begin his own head coaching journey.
319. Dave Moore (West Georgia) (Last year: 343)
Overall record: 21-42
The most notable stretch of Moore’s early coaching days was the 12 years he spent with Mark Schmidt, most of which came as they rebuild St. Bonaventure back into a contending program. After that extended work with the Bonnies, Moore got his first head coaching gig at West Georgia starting in 2018. He led them to the D2 Tourney three separate times before leading their recent transition to the D1 level. West Georgia took a big step with 15 wins last year and now step into the UAC.
277. Tony Pujol (North Alabama) (Last year: 216)
Overall record: 111-135
After sensational work at the high school level, Pujol spent several years as a D1 assistant, notably working under Anthony Grant at VCU and Alabama before a shorter stint out at Wyoming. North Alabama brought him back to the state as their first D1 head coach back in 2018. While he’s yet to produce at trip to the NCAA Tournament, he recently won an ASUN regular season crown, though last year’s 12th place finish was a sheer disappointment.
253. K. T. Turner (UT Arlington) (Last year: 259)
Overall record: 51-46
Before getting his head coaching shot Turner had bounced around, even coaching at a number of prominent schools. Across nearly two decades as an assistant, he worked at Wichita State, SMU, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kentucky before UT Arlington handing him the reigns in 2023. He produced 20 wins in his first season, struggled in year two, and got the Mavericks back to 4th place in the WAC last year, though there are bigger goals in the near future.
240. Brette Tanner (Abilene Christian) (Last year: 223)
Overall record: 84-81
A former junior college head coach more than two decades ago, Tanner has done most of his work split across two D1 schools. He was on staff at Stephen F. Austin for seven years before landing at Abilene Christian as they transitioned to D1 in 2013. He was part of great success, spending many of those years as associate head coach before being promoted in 2021. In his five years as head coach, he’s taken the Wildcats to a few postseason bids but is coming off an underwhelming 14-19 campaign.
203. John Shulman (Central Arkansas) (Last year: 236)
Overall record: 176-182
After many years as a D1 assistant, Shulman got his first head coaching experience at Chattanooga, taking the Mocs to two NCAA Tournaments and a handful of SoCon success before being fired after 9 seasons. He bounced back initially at the high school level before a ton of D2 success helming Alabama-Huntsville. Shulman has been back in D1 since Central Arkansas hired him in 2024 and the results have been notable, leading the Bears to a tie for the ASUN crown this past season.
193. A. W. Hamilton (Eastern Kentucky) (Last year: 158)
Overall record: 133-123
A disciple under Kevin Keatts for several years, Hamilton played under him at the high school and college levels and was even briefly on staff with him at NC State. Hamilton was also a successful high school coach in the 2010’s before landing at Eastern Kentucky in 2018. His stint with the Colonels has seen ups and downs, including an ASUN title and a few postseason trips, though their final year in the ASUN last season ended just 11-21.
168. Corey Gipson (Austin Peay) (Last year: 213)
Overall record: 77-55
This is Gipson’s third stint with Austin Peay, having played for the Governors in the early 2000’s and serving as an assistant nearly a decade later. He had stints at other school, including many years on the Missouri State bench before winning 22 games in his head coaching debut at Northwestern State. It was after that one season when Austin Peay called him back home in 2023. After a CIT run in his first year with the Governors, he’s fresh off a tie for the ASUN title and hopes to do more damage in the UAC.
123. Travis Ford (Little Rock) (Last year: N/A)
Overall record: 424-335
It’s quite the return for Ford, who has already spent more than two decades as D1 head coach, with 7 previous trips to the NCAA Tournament. He did great work at the NAIA level at Campbellsville before engineering postseason runs with Eastern Kentucky and UMass. Ford spent eight years at Oklahoma State and made five of those Tourney trips before a less fruitful eight years at Saint Louis in the A-10. He’s now landed with a Little Rock team hoping to become a mid-major threat again very soon.
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