Men's Basketball
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Phone:
- 289-8384
CHRIS MOONEY SUPERLATIVES
• 2-time Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award finalist (2010, 2024)
• 2024 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, NABC District 4 (A-10) Coach of the Year
• Most wins in Richmond history (358 in 20 seasons)
• Most wins in a season in Richmond history (29 in 2010-11)
• Most conference wins in a season in Richmond history (15 in 2023-24)
• Most wins vs ranked opponents in Richmond history (16)
• Winner of only A-10 tournament titles in program history (2011, 2022)
• Winner of only A-10 regular season title in program history (2024)
• Most A-10 tournament championships among active coaches (2, tied with SBU’s Mark Schmidt)
• Highest NCAA Tournament seed in program history (7th, 2010)
• Highest NIT seed in program history (1st overall, 2015)
• Highest A-10 Championship seed in program history (1st, 2024)
• Highest rank in AP Top 25 since 1957 (19th – December 2020)
• Longest win streak since 1935 (11 - December 2023 to January 2024)
CHRIS MOONEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• 2 Atlantic 10 Tournament championships, 1 Atlantic 10 Regular Season championship, 3 NCAA Tournament appearances, 10 postseason appearances (3 NCAA Tournament, 4 NIT, 3 CBI)
• Reached 2011 Sweet 16, 2022 NCAA Tournament Second Round
• 8 20-win seasons, 12 winning seasons, 14 seasons at .500 or better
• 358 wins are most in Richmond history and third most in A-10 history
• 180 conference wins are tied for third-most in A-10 history
• One of 11 coaches ever to win multiple A-10 tournament championships; 2 A-10 tournament championships are tied for fifth-most of any coach
• 2 A-10 tournament championships are tied for second most of any school during his tenure (Temple – 3)
• Richmond and Saint Louis are only current A-10 schools with multiple A-10 tournament championships and three NCAA tournament wins during his tenure
• Owns 16 of the 31 wins vs top-25 teams in Richmond history
• 27 wins vs power-conference opponents (at least one in 15 of his 20 seasons)
• Reached NIT Quarterfinals three times (2015, 2017, 2021)
• Coached 38 players who went on to play professionally
In his first 20 seasons at Richmond, Chris Mooney has led the Spiders to their only two Atlantic 10 tournament championships (2011, 2022), their only Atlantic 10 regular season championship (2024), three NCAA Tournaments, eight 20-win seasons, and 10 postseason appearances while amassing 358 wins, more than any other coach in program history.
Mooney ranks among the longest-tenured and most successful coaches in Atlantic 10 history. His 20 seasons with the Spiders mark the third-longest tenure by a coach at a single school in conference history (John Chaney - 24 seasons at Temple; Phil Martelli - 24 seasons at Saint Joseph's). In 20 seasons at Richmond, Mooney has amassed 180 conference wins, tied for the third most in A-10 history, and 358 total wins, third in Atlantic 10 history. Mooney is one of 11 coaches to ever win multiple A-10 tournament titles, and only four coaches have won more A-10 tournament championships than Mooney's two: John Chaney (6), John Calipari (5), Phil Martelli (3), and Fran Dunphy (3).
In 2024-25, the Spiders featured nine newcomers, the most for Mooney in his 20 seasons at UR, and one returning starter, tied for the fewest the program has had under Mooney. DeLonnie Hunt, Richmond's captain and its sole returning starter, fractured his foot on Jan. 8 at George Mason and missed the next 15 games. Richmond went 3-12 during that stretch and finished year 10-22 overall. Hunt led the team in scoring, assists, steals, and minutes per game, while Dusan Neskovic averaged 13.5 points per game and shot 88.7% from the free throw line, the third best single-season rate in program history. As a team, Richmond ranked 10th in D-I with a 79.2 free throw percentage, setting a new program record for highest free throw percentage in a season.
The 2023-24 Spiders stormed to the program's first regular season title since joining the Atlantic 10 in 2001, winning a program-record 15 conference games along the way and earning consensus A-10 Coach of the Year honors for Mooney. Despite a roster that featured eight newcomers, Richmond won its first eight A-10 games as part of an 11-game winning streak that stretched from mid-December to the end of January, the Spiders longest win streak since 1935. UR's win vs St. Bonaventure in its conference opener was Mooney's 334th at Richmond, breaking a tie with Gale Catlett for the third most wins by a coach in A-10 history. On January 27, the Spiders beat 16th-ranked Dayton 69-64 at the Robins Center, snapping the Flyers 13-game win streak, the longest in D-I at the time, and giving Mooney his program-record 16th win vs an AP top-25 opponent. The Spiders received votes in the AP poll following the win, one of two times UR would be represented in the poll during the season. Richmond clinched a share of the A-10 regular season title and the No. 1 seed in the A-10 Championship vs Saint Joseph's on March 6 as UR improved to 15-1 at home, its best record in the Robins Center since the arena opened in 1972. Mooney was named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year by his fellow coaches in March. Jordan King was named A-10 Co-Player of the Year, First Team All-Conference, and selected to the A-10's All-Academic Team, Dji Bailey was a co-winner of the Chris Daniels Award, given to the A-10's Most Improved Player, and Neal Quinn was named Second Team All-Conference as the Spiders dominated the league's end-of-year honors. Later in March, Mooney was named NABC District 4 (A-10) Coach of the Year and, for the second time in his career, a finalist for the Jim Phelan Award, given to the National Coach of the Year. Richmond was selected to the NIT field for the fourth time under Mooney and first since 2021. The Spiders visited Virginia Tech, falling on the road to finish the season at 23-10, tied for the sixth-most wins in a season in program history.
Mooney's season ended prematurely in 2022-23, when on February 17 he announced that he was stepping away from the program to have heart surgery. At the time of his announcement, the Spiders were 13-14 overall, with wins over NCAA Tournament teams Drake and FDU, and 6-8 in the Atlantic 10. Mooney underwent a successful procedure to remove an aortic aneurysm at the University of Virginia Medical Center on February 28 and was back in the office that April.
In 2021-22, Mooney and the Spiders captured the second A-10 title in program history and upset Big Ten champion Iowa in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament. Richmond won four games in four days to win the Atlantic 10, opening with a win against 11-seed Rhode Island and then defeating 3-seed VCU, 2-seed Dayton, and 1-seed Davidson. The Spiders overcame 15-point deficits against URI and Dayton, two of UR's six comeback wins of 14 or more points during the season, and defeated Davidson 64-62 in the A-10 final after trailing by six points with 90 seconds remaining. Richmond earned a 12 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament and a match up with Big Ten champion Iowa, a 5 seed, in the First Round. Days after being named Most Outstanding Player of the A-10 Tournament, Jacob Gilyard led all players with 24 points and six assists and Nathan Cayo recorded a pair of 'And-1's' in the final 90 seconds to lead UR to a 67-63 win and secure the sixth trip to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament in program history. The win was Richmond's ninth NCAA Tournament win when seeded 12th or lower, more than any other school in Tournament history. Richmond finished 24-13, the fourth-most wins ever by a Spiders team, and Mooney was named UR's Coach of the Year by the school's Student-Athlete Advisory Council (SAAC). After setting the NCAA Division I career steals record in December, Gilyard was a semifinalist for the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year, a Lefty Driesell Defensive All-American, and the Virginia State Defensive Player of the Year. In April, he won the Senior CLASS Award as the top senior or graduate student-athlete in NCAA Division I Men's Basketball. Gilyard also earned A-10 All-Conference honors for a fourth straight season. Tyler Burton led Richmond in scoring and rebounding and was named Second Team All-Atlantic 10 by the conference and First Team All-Atlantic 10 by the NABC. Grant Golden was named to the A-10 All-Tournament Team and finished his Spiders career with the second-most points (2,246), third-most rebounds (1,015), and fourth-most assists (476) in Spiders history.
Mooney and the Spiders posted a 14-9 record in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT. Richmond opened the season by winning the Bluegrass Showcase in Lexington, Ky. The Spiders beat 10th-ranked Kentucky in the final game for the program’s first road win ever vs a team in the top 10 of the Associated Press Poll. UR rose as high as 19th in the AP Top 25 during its 4-0 start, the best ranking for the Spiders since December 1957. Richmond earned a 2-seed in the NIT and defeated MAC regular-season champion Toledo in the First Round despite playing without its two leading scorers, Blake Francis and Grant Golden, who were sidelined with injuries. Jacob Gilyard broke Richmond's career assists record while leading the nation in steals for a second straight season and being named a Lefty Driesell Defensive All-American. Tyler Burton earned the A-10's Chris Daniels Award, given to the conference's most improved player. He was one of four Spiders to earn A-10 honors, as Francis, Gilyard, and Golden landed on the league's All-Conference teams for a second straight season.
In 2019-20, Mooney led Richmond to one of the best regular seasons in program history and was on the verge of taking the Spiders to the NCAA Tournament when the postseason was canceled due to COVID-19. The Spiders went 24-7, tying the school record for regular-season wins, and posted three wins over power-conference opponents, including a victory over eventual Big Ten champion Wisconsin in the Legends Classic. Richmond went 14-4 in conference play, a program record for conference wins in a season, and finished second in the Atlantic 10, the highest regular-season finish for UR since joining the conference in 2001. Mooney's Spiders relied on a starting lineup comprised entirely of juniors, three of whom -- Jacob Gilyard, Blake Francis, and Grant Golden -- earned All-Atlantic 10 honors following the season. Gilyard was also named A-10 Defensive Player of the Year and was a semifinalist for the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year Award after leading D-I with 99 steals. The Spiders received votes in the AP Top 25 six times, including a season-high six in the final poll of the season.
In 2018-19, the Spiders became the first team in four years to place a pair of sophomores on the Atlantic 10's All-Conference teams, as Jacob Gilyard earned Second Team honors and Grant Golden was named to the Third Team. Gilyard and Golden were forced into bigger roles after junior Nick Sherod, the Spiders most experienced starter, suffered a season-ending knee injury in late November. In December, the Spiders knocked off ACC-foe Wake Forest for Chris Mooney's 240th win at Richmond, moving him past Dick Tarrant as the winningest coach in school history.
In 2017-18, Mooney oversaw the development of one of the nation’s youngest teams with a junior, two sophomores, and two freshmen in the starting lineup. Facing one of the 25 most difficult out-of-conference schedules in Division I, the Spiders entered A-10 play with a 2-10 record. But Richmond exceeded expectations in the conference, finishing tied for fifth with a 9-9 record that included a pair of wins against crosstown rival VCU and a 2-0 mark against eventual league champion Davidson. Following a 3-13 start, Richmond went 9-7 over the final two months of the season. The Spiders played before an average home crowd of 6,492 fans, the highest attendance at Richmond since the 1992-93 season and the second-highest in D-I among schools with no more than 5,000 students, trailing only Providence.
In 2016-17, the Spiders swept the two major Atlantic 10 awards, with senior T.J. Cline winning A-10 Player of the Year and freshman De’Monte Buckingham earning Rookie of the Year honors. Cline recorded the first triple-doubles in school history en route to a season that saw him rank top 10 in points, rebounds, and assists in the single-season record book. UR rebounded from a 6-6 start to finish third in A-10 play and earn an NIT bid where the Spiders won games at Alabama and home vs Oakland.
In 2014-15, Richmond finished the regular season on a six-game winning streak, and was one of the “Last Four Out” of the NCAA Tournament at-large field, thereby securing the No. 1 seed and home-court advantage in the NIT, where they would reach the tournament’s quarterfinals. Senior Kendall Anthony wrapped up a career that saw him break the school’s all-time three-pointers record and earn All-Atlantic 10 First Team, NABC All-District First Team and VaSID All-State First Team honors.
2009-10 and 2010-11 are remembered as two of the top seasons in Mooney’s coaching career and in Spider Basketball history. In 2011, Richmond defeated Dayton in the A-10 championship game to earn Mooney’s first conference championship, the Spiders first title since Richmond joined the Atlantic 10 in 2001. The Spiders would go on to the second Sweet 16 in program history by downing Vanderbilt and Morehead State in the NCAA Denver Subregional. Richmond finished 29-8, set a school record for wins, and finished 21st in the coaches poll.
In 2010, Richmond earned its first NCAA at-large bid since 2004, garnering a seven seed before falling in the first round of the tournament. Mooney was named the 2010 Sporting News Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year, and was a finalist for the 2010 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year Award. The Spiders finished the season ranked 24th in the final AP Top 25.
| Head Coach | Richmond | 2005-present |
| Head Coach | Air Force | 2004-05 |
| Associate Head Coach | Air Force | 2003-04 |
| Assistant Coach | Air Force | 2000-03 |
| Head Coach | Arcadia (D-III) | 1997-2000 |
During those seasons, the Spiders were led by Kevin Anderson, a 2010 Associated Press All-America Honorable Mention and 2010 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, and Justin Harper, a 2011 Lute Olson All-American and First Team All-Atlantic 10 selection. Harper was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft, and saw action for the Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons, and Philadelphia 76ers during his NBA career. Harper is one of 34 of Mooney’s former players have gone on to play professionally in either the NBA, the G League, or overseas.
Mooney has been widely recognized for his contributions to the Richmond community. In 2010, he won Richmond’s Voice of the University Award, given to a faculty or staff member for being a voice that represents the University of Richmond in a positive manner to the wider community. Later in 2010, Richmond Style Weekly tabbed him for their 40 Under 40 list, spotlighting UR’s community involvement with the homeless, Special Olympics, Arthritis Foundation, Friends of Jaclyn Foundation and the ASK Foundation for Childhood Cancer Research. For many years, Mooney has headlined the Coaches Cook-Off, competing against the current VCU men's basketball coach in a live cooking competition to raise money for Positive Vibes Cafe in Richmond, which trains and employs people with disabilities, and Commonwealth Autism.
Mooney previously coached at Air Force for five seasons: three as an assistant, one as an associate head coach and his final season as head coach. In 2004-05, Mooney led the Falcons to an 18-12 record and votes in the national polls. His 18 victories were the most by a first-year head coach at Air Force.
Mooney began coaching at the high school level, taking a job at Lansdale Catholic High School in Lansdale, Pa., in 1994. His first college coaching experience came at Division III Beaver College, now known as Arcadia University. He spent two seasons there from 1998-2000. While at Beaver College, Mooney only coached part-time, spending much of his time as an event coordinator. He helped plan weddings and events while also serving as the team manager. Mooney is married to the former Lia Chomat, a Princeton graduate who also has a doctorate in psychology from Penn. The couple has two sons, Danny and Ryan.
Chris Mooney as Division I Head Coach
| SEASON | SCHOOL | TOTAL W-L | CONF W-L | FINISH |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | Richmond | 10-22 | 5-13 | T-13th |
| 2023-24 | Richmond | 23-10 | 15-3 | 1st |
| 2022-23 | Richmond* | 13-14 | 6-8 | N/A |
| 2021-22 | Richmond | 24-13 | 10-8 | 6th |
| 2020-21 | Richmond | 14-9 | 6-5 | 8th |
| 2019-20 | Richmond | 24-7 | 14-4 | 2nd |
| 2018-19 | Richmond | 13-20 | 6-12 | T-10th |
| 2017-18 | Richmond | 12-20 | 9-9 | T-5th |
| 2016-17 | Richmond | 22-13 | 13-5 | T-3rd |
| 2015-16 | Richmond | 16-16 | 7-11 | T-9th |
| 2014-15 | Richmond | 21-14 | 12-4 | 4th |
| 2013-14 | Richmond | 19-14 | 8-8 | 7th |
| 2012-13 | Richmond | 19-15 | 8-8 | T-8th |
| 2011-12 | Richmond | 16-16 | 7-9 | T-9th |
| 2010-11 | Richmond | 29-8 | 13-3 | 3rd |
| 2009-10 | Richmond | 26-9 | 13-3 | 3rd |
| 2008-09 | Richmond | 20-16 | 9-7 | T-5th |
| 2007-08 | Richmond | 16-15 | 9-7 | T-4th |
| 2006-07 | Richmond | 8-22 | 4-12 | T-12th |
| 2005-06 | Richmond | 13-17 | 6-10 | T-11th |
| 2004-05 | Air Force | 18-12 | 9-5 | 3rd |
| TOTALS | RICHMOND | 358-290 | 180-150 | |
| D-I CAREER | 376-302 | 189-155 |
