OVC Pelphrey Joins Tennessee Tech

Former Arkansas Coach Joins Golden Eagles

Editor: The following is part of a press release from ttusports.com.

(Cookeville, TN) – Following an extensive national search, Tennessee Tech University President Phil Oldham and Director of Athletics Mark Wilson announced today the hiring of John Pelphrey as the 13^th men’s basketball coach in Golden Eagle history.

“It’s an honor and privilege to be at Tennessee Tech,” Pelphrey expressed. “My family and I, and our staff, were looking for a place where we could go and learn, lead and take on challenges in college basketball. We’re very appreciative of Mark Wilson and his pursuit of us. We have complete confidence and trust in him. We love the alignment between him and President Oldham and their vision for basketball at Tennessee Tech moving into the future, and we are very, very excited to be a part of that.

“We understand that there’s a lot of work to do, but we’re going to embrace that. We’re looking forward to developing relationships with the team, everyone at Tennessee Tech and the community of Cookeville.”

“Our mission when we began this search was to find the best fit, not only for Tennessee Tech University, but also our student-athletes, our fans and our community, Wilson said.  “John Pelphrey is representative of each of those goals and we could not be more thrilled to have him aboard as the 13^th head coach in Tennessee Tech men’s basketball history and are excited for what the future holds.”

President Oldham echoed those sentiments about the newest addition to the Tech Athletics Department.

“We are very excited to welcome John Pelphrey to the Tennessee Tech community,” said Oldham. “Through his tremendous career, he has shown himself to be bold, fearless and confident – the very values we look for and strive to represent within the University. He has an outstanding tradition of cultivating student-athletes and setting them on the course for future success.”

The Coaching Resume

Boasting over 25 years of Division I coaching experience, including nine as a head coach of two programs, Pelphrey most recently served as the associate head coach at the University of Alabama under former head coach Avery Johnson. He spent the past three seasons (2016-19) with the Crimson Tide.

Pelphrey spent four seasons (2011-15) in what was his second stint as an assistant coach under former head coach Billy Donovan at the University of Florida. In his 10 total years with the Gators, Pelphrey was instrumental in helping the team claim four SEC championships and secure seven total NCAA Tournament bids, including appearances in the 2000 national championships game, the 2014 Final Four, the 2012 and 2013 Elite Eight and a Sweet 16 showing in 1999.

In between his two stops at Florida, the Paintsville, Ky. native earned head coach opportunities at the University of South Alabama for five seasons from 2002-07 and the  University of Arkansas for four seasons from 2007-11. Pelphrey holds a career 149-122 record (.550) as head coach, including an 80-63 (.559) mark at South Alabama and a record of 69-59 (.539) at Arkansas.

During his five seasons as the head coach of South Alabama, Pelphrey led the Jaguars to a Sun Belt regular season championship and a conference tournament title. That 2005-06 USA squad earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Earning Sun Belt Coach of the Year honors, Pelphrey guided South Alabama to a 24-7 mark.

Prior to Pelphrey’s first stop in Gainesville as a Florida assistant, he spent two seasons on Donovan’s staff at Marshall University, where the Thundering Herd went 18-9 in 1995 and 17-11 in 1996 after going 9-18 the year before they arrived. Prior to that, Pelphrey spent a season as an assistant coach under Eddie Sutton at Oklahoma State in 1994, where the Cowboys achieved a 24-10 record and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Pelphrey began his coaching career following one season playing professionally in France and Spain.

He played two years at Kentucky under Eddie Sutton and three under Rick Pitino. Part of UK’s class known as “The Unforgettables,” he was inducted into the Kentucky Hall of Fame in 2005 and named the Wildcats’ Student-Athlete of the Year in 1989. His jersey number (No. 34) was retired in 1992.

Named Mr. Basketball in the state of Kentucky as a senior at Paintsville High School in 1987, he scored 2,477 points and grabbed 1,316 rebounds in his career.