UTRGV Vice President and Director of Athletics Chasse Conque announced Matt Figger as the new men’s basketball head coach in a news release earlier this morning.
In the news release, Figger expressed his excitement for coming aboard and carrying on former Head Coach Lew Hill’s legacy, who tragically died Feb. 7.
“I cannot express enough how excited my family and I are to become a part of the UTRGV family,” Figger said. “This program has already experienced an incredible leader in Lew Hill. Coach Hill’s vision has already laid a strong foundation. My job is to continue the work and do my due diligence to make this program successful and to take it to levels never before experienced. The work starts now!”
Figger will join the Vaqueros after having previously led the Austin Peay Governors of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) for the past four seasons to a cumulative record of 76-51 and 49-25 in conference.
While at Austin Peay, located in Clarksville, Tennessee, Figger was named 2017-18 OVC Coach of the Year. In the same year, he guided his team to the quarterfinal round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT) before being bounced by the University of Chicago Illinois (UIC) in a hard fought 83-81 battle.
Figger also coached two-time OVC Player of the Year, forward Terry Taylor, who during his award-winning campaigns in 2020 and 2021 averaged a 21 point and 11 rebound double-double.
From 2013 to 2017, Figger was the associate head coach at South Carolina under Frank Martin when the Gamecocks went to the 2017 Final Four defeating Marquette, Duke, Baylor and Florida as a seven seed.
Conque, in the news release, highlighted the nearly three-decades of experience that native Kentuckian brings from his previous stops that include Wabash Valley Junior College, Vincennes, Odessa Junior College, South Alabama, Arkansas and Kansas State as an assistant coach, director of operations and recruiting coordinator.
“Coach Figger is a proven winner who has strong Texas ties and brings a wealth of Division I experience to our program,” Conque said. “As a sitting Division I head coach from a very respected program at Austin Peay, this is a statement hire for our university, athletics department and men’s basketball program.
“I am confident Coach Figger will continue to build upon the great work and legacy of Coach Hill and I am excited for the future success of our program as we continue to Rally the Valley around UTRGV Athletics.”
Over the years, Figger has coached multiple NBA talents, such as 2008 National Player of the Year and former NBA player Michael Beasley; two-time All-NBA and 2011 NBA Champion with the Dallas Mavericks Shawn Marion and current NBA players Rodney McGruder and Sindarius Thornwell.
UTRGV Athletics will announce a time and date for Figger’s news conference in the near future.
According to the news release, fans will not be able to attend his introductory news conference in-person but can watch live on the WAC Digital Network.
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