A new era of UT Arlington men's basketball begins today with the appointment of former Big 12 and Southeastern Conference assistant Chris Ogden as the eighth head coach in program history.

A native of Seminole, Texas, Ogden played for head coach Rick Barnes and served on his staff for 13 seasons at both the University of Texas and the University of Tennessee. He spent the last two seasons as an assistant coach under head coach Chris Beard at Texas Tech.

"I am thrilled to welcome Chris Ogden as the eighth head coach in UTA men's basketball program's nearly 60-year history," said UTA Director of Athletics Jim Baker. "Starting with his playing days as a youth in Seminole, Texas, Chris has been a winner. In high school, he was the Texas player of the year and led his team to a state championship game. As a player in college, he went to four straight NCAA Tournaments and a Final Four. As a coach, he has been to numerous NCAA Tournaments, recruited some of the country's top classes and developed several NBA first round draft picks.

"I look forward to Chris bringing his experience to UTA and helping us continue to set high expectations for our athletics program and guide our men's basketball team to greater heights."

During his 15 years on the basketball staffs at Texas, Tennessee and Texas Tech, he helped compile a 346-173 record for a .667 winning percentage. In 10 seasons as a full-time assistant coach he went 215-130 and registered a total of 32 victories over Associated Press top 25 ranked teams. He helped lead three programs to 11 total NCAA Tournament appearances, including three regional finals.

"I am extremely honored to serve as the head men's basketball coach at UT Arlington," said Ogden. "Having lived in Texas nearly my entire life, I have dreamed of having the opportunity to lead a program in my home state. UTA has an excellent reputation as a world-class institution in the dynamic Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. I look forward to continuing to build on the program Coach Scott Cross developed over the last decade. We will operate this program in a manner that our supporters, students and the administration expects - with class, hard work and success on and off the court."

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