The University of South Florida closed the deal on its next head basketball coach Wednesday when it hired Chris Mack away from the College of Charleston.
The 56-year-old Mack brings 15 seasons of head-coaching experience with him to Tampa. He led the Cougars to a 21-11 straight-up record and a 19-12 against-the-spread mark this past year. They lost 81-56 vs. Towson in the quarterfinals of the Coastal Athletic Conference Tournament.
“Bulls basketball has incredible momentum, and we’ve found an outstanding coach and leader to elevate our program to the next level,” USF’s CEO of Athletics Rob Higgins said. “Chris Mack has reached 20 or more wins in 12 of his 15 seasons as a head coach and guided teams to nine NCAA Tournaments, including several Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight. He brings elite experience in roster building through the portal and transforming programs in a short time frame. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Chris and his family to Bulls Nation. With Chris and Kristy (Curry) leading our men’s and women’s programs, Tampa Bay’s Home for Hoops will be rocking and poised for an incredibly bright future.”
Mack scored his first head-coaching gig at Xavier in 2009 when Sean Miller left to take the Arizona job. He took the Musketeers to the NCAA Tournament in eight of his nine seasons, including four Sweet 16 appearances and an Elite Eight.
Mack was named the 2016 Henry Iba Award winner as the National Coach of the Year after guiding Xavier to a 28-6 record. He garnered Big East Coach of the Year honors in 2018 after a 29-win campaign.
Mack left Xavier to replace Rick Pitino at Louisville in 2018. However, his tenure at U of L ended midway through his fourth season at the school.
Mack went 20-14 in his first year, but the Cardinals lost in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. In Year 2, Louisville went 24-7, but the Tournament was cancelled due to the global pandemic.
U of L didn’t get a bid after going 13-7 during the 2020-21 season. Mack was suspended for the first six games of the next year when the university claimed he violated school guidelines by recording a conversation with assistant Dino Gaudio while firing him.
Gaudio was attempting to extort Mack, threatening to expose him for NCAA violations if he wasn’t paid a significant sum of money. Gaudio eventually pleaded guilty to a federal extortion charge. He paid a $10,000 fine and served one year of probation.
Mack was paid a $4.8 million buyout by Louisville and stepped away from coaching for two years. Then he returned to the sidelines for the College of Charleston, taking it to a 24-9 record in his first season.
Mack owns a 323-153 career record (67.9%).
USF dropped an 83-79 decision vs. Louisville in the first round of the NCAA Tournament this past Thursday. The Bulls lost their head coach Bryan Hodgson when he took the Providence job earlier this week.