Gardner-Webb Hires Chris Holtmann To Lead Men's Basketball Program
April 22, 2010 | Men's Basketball
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - Gardner-Webb University announced
Thursday that Chris
Holtmann has been hired as head coach of the men's basketball
program, following a thorough national search.
"This is an exciting time for our University, community and
men's basketball program," said Gardner-Webb president Dr. Frank
Bonner. "This was a decision involving many weeks of diligent work
in identifying, pursuing and interviewing candidates who share a
passion for college basketball and Christian higher education. By
the end of the process it became clear that the man who most
belonged in charge of our men's basketball program was Chris
Holtmann."
Holtmann, 38, comes to Gardner-Webb after spending two seasons
as the lead assistant at Ohio University. In that role, he was
instrumental in helping the Bobcats win the 2010 Mid-American
Conference Tournament in March and to an upset of No. 3 seed
Georgetown in the opening round of this year's NCAA Tournament.
That win was the first in the NCAA Tournament for Ohio since
1983.
"Chris exemplifies the leadership qualities, along with the
spiritual maturity to guide this basketball program to the upper
echelon of the Big South Conference," said Vice President for
Athletics Chuck Burch. "The field of candidates for this position
was strong, and I would like to personally thank those involved in
the interview process for their interest in Gardner-Webb
University. Chris presented to us a passionate, broad vision and an
attainable plan for success for the program and the young men he
will coach and mentor. We are pleased to appoint him as the driving
force behind a bright, new era in Gardner-Webb basketball."
Holtmann is the fifth head coach in the 40-year senior college
history of Gardner-Webb men's basketball. He replaces Rick Scruggs,
who spent 15 seasons at the helm.
"This has been a tremendously humbling, yet thrilling
experience, and I am honored to earn the title of head basketball
coach here at Gardner-Webb University," Holtmann said. "Obviously I
am thankful to Dr. Bonner and Mr. Burch for this opportunity at a
place I truly love, a very special place for my family and I. The
rich tradition of this basketball program is very important to this
school and the community as a whole. Building on that tradition,
and doing so in a manner that represents what this University
stands for is a tremendously important task. The student body,
faculty, staff and fans deserve a program they can be proud of, a
program that can be a rallying point across the board. To be chosen
as the man to lead this program in that direction is truly
exciting."
The time to take over a program of his own has arrived after
years of hard work for Holtmann. He has served for 12 seasons as a
coach in the college ranks, developing a strong reputation as an
excellent tactician - particularly on the defensive end of the
floor - and a relentless recruiter. During his last 10 seasons on
the bench, Holtmann has been a part of five conference
championships.
During Holtmann's time at Ohio, he was a key figure in
securing the top recruiting classes in the Mid-American Conference
in each of his seasons with the school according to ESPN.com,
including 2010 MAC Freshman of the Year D.J. Cooper.
This past season, Ohio led the Mid-American Conference in
scoring offense (74.7 ppg) and also led the league in
assist/turnover ratio and defensive rebounding - two statistical
categories Holtmann places extreme importance in.
Holtmann is no stranger to Gardner-Webb basketball. He spent
five seasons as an assistant at GWU from 2003-2008, and was the
program's Associate Head Coach in four of those seasons, proving to
be a major asset in some of the program's most notable basketball
moments.
Under Holtmann's guidance, the Runnin' Bulldogs experienced a
strong defensive surge, leading the Atlantic Sun Conference in
three-point field goal defense in 2007-08 and ranking second in
overall field goal defense in 2007-08 and 2004-05.
During his time on the bench in Boiling Springs, Gardner-Webb
pulled off memorable upsets of East Carolina (2004, 2005),
Minnesota (2005) and No. 20 Kentucky (2007), and captured the
Atlantic Sun Conference's regular season crown in 2004-05. GWU also
advanced to the league's title game that season, going 18-12
against a difficult regular season schedule.
Holtmann's recruiting efforts helped produce some of the most
notable talent for Gardner-Webb in the Division I era, including a
pair of recruiting classes ranked in the national top-100 by Hoop
Scoop.
The most recent of those top-100 classes included 2008
All-American and Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Year Thomas
Sanders. During Sanders' senior season, the Sugarland, Texas,
native averaged 18.0 points, 10.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists per
game, finishing third nationally with 20 double-doubles on the
season. Sanders was the first GWU player to average a season
double-double since Stan Easterling in 1998.
Holtmann also recruited 2009 ESPN the Magazine Academic
All-America guard Aaron Linn and 2008 Atlantic Sun Conference
Freshman of the Year Nate Blank to Boiling Springs.
Tim Jennings, another dynamic guard recruited by Holtmann, was
the Atlantic Sun Conference Defensive Player of the Year in both
2004-05 and 2005-06 and is playing professionally in South America.
Jennings was a key cog in teams that combined to win 35 games in
two seasons (2004-2006).
Prior to his first action in Boiling Springs, Holtmann worked
under his mentor, Coach Paul Patterson, as top assistant and
recruiting coordinator at Taylor University - his alma mater. The
Trojans won consecutive conference titles and won at least 25 games
in each of Holtmann's final two seasons on the bench. Those teams
finished ranked eighth and 13th in the NAIA national polls,
respectively. Holtmann spent the 1997-98 season as a graduate
assistant at Taylor - his first coaching position - before spending
one season as a full-time assistant at Geneva (Pa.) College.
The Nicholasville, Ky., native was an NAIA All-America
selection at guard under Coach Patterson in 1994, leading Taylor to
a 29-5 record, a No. 1 national ranking and a spot in the NAIA
National Tournament.
Holtmann spent his high school days starring on the hardwood
at Jessamine County (Ky.) High. He earned a degree in psychology
from Taylor in 1994 and a Master's in athletic administration from
Ball State in 2000.
He and his wife, the former Lori Bedi, are expecting their
first child in May.
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