South Alabama Jaguars Basketball - Coaches

Coaches

Cliff Ellis was head coach at the University of South Alabama from 1975 to 1984. He was the all-time winning coach in South Alabama history with a 171–84 (.671) record during nine seasons until Coach Ronnie Arrow surpassed him in 2010. When Ellis became head coach, the administrators at South Alabama were thinking of dropping to Division II. Four years later, he had the Jaguars in the NCAA Tournament and six seasons later, they were ranked in the nation's top 10. Ellis, also was the athletic director during part of his tenure, led the Jaguars to three Sun Belt titles, two NCAA Tournament appearances and two NITs.

Former NBA Minnesota Timberwolves coach, Bill Musselman returned to the NCAA after a 25-year absence and led the Jaguars to back-to-back NCAA tournament bids in his two years as coach. Musselman's 1997 South Alabama team went 23–7 and nearly upset eventual champion University of Arizona in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.

Bob Weltlich was named interim coach at South Alabama in 1997 following Musselman's sudden resignation. Weltlich coached the Jags from 1997 to 2002 and compiled a record of 81–65 (.559) and three 20-win seasons.

John Pelphrey spent five seasons as head coach at South Alabama. In 2005–06 the Jaguars defeated Western Kentucky University in the Sun Belt Conference tournament championship game, earning USA's first NCAA tournament bid since 1998. The Jaguars lost to the tournament champions, Florida in the round of 64. In 2007, Pelphrey led the Jags to an NIT birth which resulted in a first-round loss to Syracuse (79–73). South Alabama finished the year with a 20–12 record, giving Pelphrey an overall record of 80–67 with the Jags and an offer to coach for the University of Arkansas in the SEC.

In his first eight seasons as the Jaguars coach, Ronnie Arrow compiled a record of 114–93 (.551) and was named Sun Belt Coach of the Year in 1989 and 1991. His squads led the Sun Belt Conference in scoring four of his seven seasons at South Alabama. His 1988–89 squad set a school and league record 91 points per game average and five of his seven teams tallied at least 80 points per game. Since his return in 2007, Ronnie Arrow has compiled a 63–34 (64.9%) record and became the all-time winningest coach in South Alabama history with a 177–127 record (11 seasons). He also garnered an at-large bid to the 2008 NCAA Tournament, the first for Sun Belt Conference is many years.

Arrow retired December 19, 2012 and was replaced by Jeff Price on an interim basis. On March 25, 2013, Matthew Graves was named as the new head coach of the Jaguars.