Christopher Michael Lowery (born July 7, 1972) is an American

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

coach currently serving as an assistant men's basketball coach at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

under head coach Chris Collins. He was previously the head men's basketball coach at

Southern Illinois University Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU or SIUC) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois. Founded in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. The university enrolls students from all 50 st ...

. He started in the spring of 2004 and was fired on March 2, 2012.

Playing and coaching career

Born in

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

, Lowery was a standout player for the Evansville Harrison Warriors, bridging the "

Calbert Cheaney Calbert Nathaniel Cheaney (born July 17, 1971) is an American basketball coach and former player who serves as assistant coach for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He starred as a player for the Indiana Hoosiers fr ...

-era" to the "

Walter McCarty Walter Lee McCarty (born February 1, 1974) is an American basketball coach and former professional player. McCarty played for the NBA's New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns, and the Los Angeles Clippers. He last served as head coach ...

-era," Lowery played at Southern Illinois for legendary

Rich Herrin Rich Herrin (April 6, 1933 – December 25, 2020) was a top collegiate basketball coach in America. From 2012 to 2014, he coached collegiately at Morthland College, as well as the Southern Illinois University Salukis men's basketball team ...

from 1990-1994 and later became an assistant coach, eventually serving under Bruce Weber at Southern Illinois and moving with him to

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

after the 2002–03 season. On April 9, 2004, Lowery was named the head coach of Southern Illinois men's basketball team after

Matt Painter Matthew Curtis Painter (born August 27, 1970) is an American basketball coach and former player. He is currently the men's basketball coach at Purdue University, having held that position since 2005. Before Purdue, Painter held coaching positions ...

left to become an associate head coach/head coach designate to

Gene Keady Lloyd Eugene Keady (born May 21, 1936) is an American basketball coach. He is best known for his 25 years serving as the head men's basketball coach at Purdue University in Indiana. In his tenure leading the Boilermakers from 1980 to 2005, he went ...

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and mone ...

. On March 1, 2007, Lowery was named Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year after leading SIU to a 25–5 regular season record. A highlight win for the season was when they beat the highly ranked

Butler Bulldogs The Butler Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent Butler University, located in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Bulldogs participate in 20 NCAA Division I intercollegiate sports. After leaving the Horizon League following the 2011–12 seas ...

on the road. The Salukis received a four-seed in the 2007 NCAA tournament, the highest for any Valley team since

Indiana State Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...

received a one-seed in

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...

. On April 2, 2007, Lowery signed a seven-year contract extension. worth $750,000 annually. On March 10, 2011, Lowery received a vote of confidence from athletic director

Mario Moccia Mario Moccia is the current director of athletics for New Mexico State University. He previously served as athletic director for Southern Illinois University Carbondale from 2006 to 2014, as an associate athletic director at the University of Misso ...

at a joint press conference, despite Southern Illinois suffering its third season with a .500 record or below and growing pressure from fans and alumni to fire Lowery. Lowery and the Salukis continued their losing ways in the 2011–12 season, posting a career-low 8–23 overall record with a 5–13 mark in conference play. Lowery was fired the following morning. Lowery was hired as an assistant to Weber at Kansas State University on April 5, 2012. Lowery was hired as an assistant coach at Missouri State on May 1, 2022. Lowery was hired as an assistant coach at Northwestern on July 27, 2022

Head coaching record

References

External links

Kansas State profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowery, Chris 1972 births Living people African-American basketball coaches African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Indiana Basketball players from Indiana College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball coaches Junior college men's basketball coaches in the United States Kansas State Wildcats men's basketball coaches Missouri Southern Lions men's basketball coaches Point guards Southeast Missouri State Redhawks men's basketball coaches Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball coaches Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball players Sportspeople from Evansville, Indiana 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople