Chris Mooney

Chris Mooney is an American former professional basketball player and current head men’s basketball coach of the Richmond Spiders in Virginia. Mooney is universally recognised as one of the longest-standing and most successful coaches in Atlantic 10 history.

Mooney started out his basketball career at a young age, going on to play college basketball at Princeton. He was a four-year starter at Princeton, starting all 107 games in his career and amassing a staggering 1,071 points. His invaluable skill led him to achieve runner-up for Rookie of the Year in the Ivy League as a freshman and also an honorable mention All-Conference honors as a sophomore, First Team All-Ivy League honors as a junior and Second Team All-Ivy League honors in his senior year. Fresh out of college, Mooney quickly embarked on his coaching career. In 1998, Mooney headed up the program at Beaver College, now known as Arcadia University. After a couple of years there, Mooney moved to Air Force where he took up an assistant coaching position, stepping up to head coach in 2004. In his year there, Mooney led the Air Force Falcons to their second-best record in school history. Following this, Mooney became head coach at the University of Richmond where he has since overseen 18 seasons, leading the Spiders to three NCAA tournament appearances, two Atlantic 10 championships, seven 20-win seasons, and nine post-season appearances with 325 wins – surpassing any other coach in program history.

Mooney has been widely recognised for his impact on the Richmond community. In 2010, Mooney won Richmond’s Voice of the University Award and was named on Richmond Style Weekly’s 40 Under 40 list, spotlighting his community involvement with numerous charities. He is also an avid cook, competing in live cooking competitions to raise money for Positive Vibe Café in Richmond, which trains and employs people with disabilities – a true sign of Mooney’s charitable contributions.