The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Men's Basketball
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
16th Season at Texas
Chris Ogden is in his second season as General Manager of Men’s Basketball and his 16th year on the Texas staff. A former Texas player and assistant coach who spent three years as head coach at UTA, Ogden brings 21 years of collegiate coaching experience to the Texas staff.
Ogden returned to the Forty Acres prior to the 2021-22 season. He worked as Managing Director of Men’s Basketball for 18 months, before he served in an interim role as Assistant Coach from early January 2023 through the end of the 2022-23 season.
Over the last three years in Austin, Ogden has helped the Longhorns post a 72-34 (.679) overall record including a 5-3 mark in NCAA Tournament games. Texas has advanced to at least the NCAA Round of 32 in each of the last three seasons, including making a run to the NCAA Elite Eight in Terry’s first year as head coach in 2022-23. This marks the first time Texas has won its NCAA First Round game in three consecutive seasons since UT won four-straight NCAA First-Round games from 2006-09. The Longhorns are one of just eight programs nationally to advance to at least the NCAA Tournament Round of 32 in each of the last three years, joining Baylor, Creighton, Gonzaga, Houston, Kansas, Michigan State and Tennessee.
Ogden has played a huge role in the creation of a true home court advantage for the Longhorns in the first two seasons inside Moody Center, the $375 million world-class arena located on campus that opened in April 2022. Texas has registered a 30-5 record in Moody and has averaged 10,819 fans per game during the arena’s first two years. Moody Center’s official capacity is 10,763 but there is a standing-room only area in the upper concourse for UT students used as overflow for the Corral, the official UT student section which surrounds 270-degrees of the court.
Texas played in front of a sellout crowd in all 17 contests (16-1 record) in Moody Center and averaged 10,965 fans per game during the 2022-23 season. The Longhorns posted a 6-0 record against AP Top 25 opponents that year, including a 3-0 mark against AP Top 10 foes with wins over No. 2 Gonzaga, No. 3 Kansas and No. 7 Creighton. Texas also won its Throwback Game in historic Gregory Gymnasium on the UT campus and posted an overall mark of 17-1 in home games in 2022-23, tying the school record for most home wins in a season (also went 17-1 in 2007-08).
During the 2023-24 season, Texas posted a 21-13 overall record and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Round of 32. UT finished at No. 25 in the final KenPom team rankings, recorded five Quad 1 wins and earned three victories against AP-ranked opponents. The Longhorns were one of 11 teams to rank in the top 31 in KenPom in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency.
Texas completed the 2022-23 campaign with an overall record of 29-9 (12-6 Big 12, second) and ranked No. 5 in the final Associated Press poll. The No. 5 spot marked a tie for the highest ranking in the final AP poll by the Longhorns. UT also was No. 5 in the final AP poll during the 2002-03 Final Four season. The Longhorns advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight for the first time since 2008 and eighth time in program history. Texas captured its second Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship title in program history, defeating No. 3 Kansas, 76-56, in the championship game in Kansas City, Mo.
The 29 wins were the third-most in a single season in program history, as UT went 31-7 in 2007-08 and 30-7 in 2005-06. The Longhorns compiled a 10-7 record against AP Top 25 opponents in 2022-23. This set a school single-season record for most wins in a year against AP-ranked teams, as UT previously went 8-5 in 2003-04. Texas posted a 6-3 mark against AP Top 11 foes during the 2022-23 season and tied a program single-season record for most games played (38).
In his first year back in Austin in 2021-22, Ogden helped the Longhorns to a 22-12 overall record (10-8 Big 12 Conference, fourth). Texas earned an 81-73 win over Virginia Tech in the NCAA Tournament Round of 64, marking the school’s first NCAA tourney win since 2014, before falling to No. 10/9 (No. 3 seed) Purdue in a hard-fought battle in the Round of 32.
The 22 total wins by the Longhorns were the most since Texas had 24 victories in 2013-14. UT, which appeared in every Associated Press Top 25 poll except one during the season, placed No. 25 in the final AP poll. The Longhorns reached the 20-win mark in the month of February for the first time since 2013-14 and reached the 20-win mark in the regular season for the first time since 2015-16.
Off the court in 2021-22, Ogden assisted in prioritizing student attendance and knocked that objective out of the park. Texas students filled their lower bowl sections to capacity in the final year of the Frank Erwin Center during every game while school was in session. In a student-only attendance game at Gregory Gym, an electric crowd of 2,834 packed the historic on-campus gym and watched the Longhorns post a 73-57 win over Sam Houston (Nov. 29). This event marked the first men’s basketball contest inside Gregory since Texas hosted Baylor on Feb. 26, 1977 in the first round of the Southwest Conference Tournament.
UT set a single-season record for most season tickets distributed (9,287), topping the previous mark of 8,882 achieved in 2004-05. The Longhorns recorded a total of three sellouts in the final season of the Erwin Center, marking the first sellout since Feb. 29, 2016 against No. 1 Kansas. The total attendance during the 2021-22 season in the Erwin Center was 232,729 fans in 18 games, marking the fourth-highest single-season attendance total in Erwin Center history and most since the 2010-11 season.
During Ogden’s three seasons (2018-21) as head coach at UTA, the Mavericks posted a 44-47 (.484) overall mark, including a 31-24 (.564) record in Sun Belt Conference play. He inherited a program that returned just one scholarship player and 3.2 percent of its scoring from the 2017-18 season, the fewest by any Division I team in the country.
In his first year in Arlington (2018-19), Ogden guided UTA to a 17-16 mark, a tie for second in the league (12-6) and a trip to the Sun Belt Tournament title game. The Mavericks were predicted to finish second-to-last in the league’s preseason poll. The nine-spot improvement from preseason to end-of-season conference finish tied for the best in the nation with Siena, who was picked 11th in the MAAC and ended in a four-way tie for second.
Ogden was named the Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year and the NABC District 24 Coach of the Year. He was a finalist for the Hugh Durham Award, presented annually to the nation’s top mid-major coach, and the Joe B. Hall Award, given annually to the top first-year head coach in Division I.
Despite an overall mark of 14-18 in his second season, the Mavericks registered a 10-10 mark in Sun Belt play. UTA played the third-toughest non-conference schedule of any team in the nation, and 13 of its losses were by eight points or less including a 72-66 defeat at No. 8 Gonzaga. Ogden led the Mavericks to a 13-13 record in the 2020-21 season and a 9-8 mark in league action.
Before his stint as a head coach at UTA, Ogden spent 15 years as an assistant on the staffs at Texas Tech University, the University of Tennessee and The University of Texas. Ogden’s teams posted an overall mark of 346-173 (.667), and he helped those three programs make a combined 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, including three trips to the Elite Eight.
He worked under Chris Beard for two seasons at Texas Tech in 2016-17 and 2017-18. In his second year in Lubbock, the Red Raiders posted a 27-10 mark and advanced to the program’s first NCAA Elite Eight. Texas Tech defeated Stephen F. Austin and Florida in the first and second rounds in Dallas, and followed with a 78-65 victory against No. 2 seed Purdue in the Sweet 16 before falling to eventual National Champion Villanova in the Elite Eight. The Red Raiders finished second in the Big 12 (11-7 record) and earned a No. 6 ranking in the final USA Today/Coaches Top 25 poll.
Following the 2017-18 season, Zhaire Smith was selected as the No. 16 pick in the NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns. Ogden had a major role in the recruitment of several players who went on to lead Texas Tech to a NCAA runner-up finish in 2018-19.
Prior to his time at Texas Tech, Ogden worked as an assistant coach under Rick Barnes for the 2015-16 season at Tennessee. He served a total of 12 years on the Texas staff, including seven seasons as an assistant coach, four as an administrative assistant and one as a student assistant coach.
During his seven years as a full-time assistant with the Longhorns (2008-15), Ogden helped UT post a 155-87 (.640) record and make six NCAA Tournament appearances. A total of six McDonald’s All-Americans made their way to the UT campus in that seven-year period, including Avery Bradley, 2009; Cory Joseph, 2010; Tristan Thompson, 2010; Myck Kabongo, 2011; Cameron Ridley, 2012; and Myles Turner, 2014). Texas’ six-man freshman class in 2012 was ranked No. 4 nationally by ESPN, while the six-man class in 2011 was also tabbed the No. 4 class in the nation by ESPN. UT’s two-man class of Joseph and Thompson in 2010 was ranked No. 8 in the country by ESPN. The three-man class in 2009 was tabbed No. 3 nationally by Rivals and No. 4 by ESPNU and included Bradley, the top-rated recruit in the country by ESPNU.
UT climbed to the top of both major national polls (AP and USA Today Coaches) on Jan. 11, 2010, marking the first time in program history that the Longhorns had been the top-ranked team in the nation in either major poll. Texas held the top spot in both polls for a two-week stretch. UT set a school record for most wins in a season (31-7) in 2007-08. While using a starting rotation that featured four freshmen (including eventual consensus National Player of the Year Kevin Durant) and a sophomore in 2006-07, the Longhorns went 25-10 and advanced to the NCAA Second Round. In 2005-06, Texas posted a 30-7 record and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight.
While he was an assistant coach at Texas, seven players had their name called during the NBA Draft with six of those being first-round selections. The list of draft picks includes: Avery Bradley, No. 19 by Boston in 2010; Damion James, No. 24 by Atlanta in 2010; Dexter Pittman, No. 32 by Miami in 2010; Tristan Thompson, No. 4 by Cleveland in 2011; Jordan Hamilton, No. 26 by Dallas in 2011; Cory Joseph, No. 29 by San Antonio in 2011; and Myles Turner, No. 11 by Indiana in 2015.
Ogden played four years (2000-03) at forward for the Longhorns and was a member of four NCAA Tournament teams. He completed his career at Texas as the winningest player in school history with 97 total victories.
The team captain as a senior during UT’s run to the Final Four in 2002-03, Ogden played in 85 career games (three starts) and totaled 144 career points, 88 rebounds and 40 assists. He earned the team’s Jay Arnette Award as a junior (2001-02), honoring a player for his behind-the-scenes efforts and contributions to the team.
Following his collegiate playing career, he joined the UT basketball staff as a student assistant coach for one year (2003-04) while he completed his undergraduate degree. He earned his bachelor’s of science degree in Education from The University of Texas in 2004.
A native of Seminole, Texas, Ogden played four years of varsity basketball at Seminole High School. He was tabbed the state of Texas’ Mr. Basketball in his senior year (1998-99), when he averaged 17.3 points, 10.6 rebounds and 8.5 assists per game while leading his team to a 36-4 record and a runner-up finish at the Class 3A state tournament.
Ogden and his wife, Katie, have three children, Bo, Ellie and Parker. Katie earned her bachelor’s degree from The University of Texas and went on to graduate from The University of Texas School of Law in 2006. She served as UT student body president in 2002-03.
The Chris Ogden File
|
Hometown |
Seminole, Texas |
|
Education |
University of Texas, bachelor’s degree, education, 2004 |
|
Wife |
Katie |
|
Children |
Bo, Ellie and Parker |
Ogden’s Coaching Experience
|
Years |
School |
Position/Title |
|
2023- |
Texas |
General Manager |
|
Jan.-Mar. 23 |
Texas |
Assistant Coach |
|
2021-22 |
Texas |
Managing Director |
|
2018-21 |
UTA |
Head Coach |
|
2016-18 |
Texas Tech |
Assistant Coach |
|
2015-16 |
Tennessee |
Assistant Coach |
|
2008-15 |
Texas |
Assistant Coach |
|
2004-08 |
Texas |
Administrative Assistant |
|
2003-04 |
Texas |
Student Assistant |
