Christopher Scott Mooney (born August 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 and the current head men's basketball coach at the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a private liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students in five schools: the School ...

. Prior to taking the helm of the

Spiders Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species dive ...

basketball program, he was the head coach at

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

. In his only year there, he led the Falcons to their second best record in school history (18–12). He played college basketball at

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

. As a four-year starter at Princeton, he ranks 22nd on the school's all-time leading scoring list with 1,071 points, and 11th in three-point field goals made (142).

Early years and college

Mooney was born and raised in working-class neighborhood in Philadelphia, spending his high school years at Archbishop Ryan High School as the child of a single father after his mother died from breast cancer when he was 13 years old. Mooney's father was a

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Since the rise in large-scale adoption of retired racing Greyhounds, the breed has seen a resurge ...

bus driver. In 1990, Mooney enrolled at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

, majoring in English and playing basketball for legendary coach

Pete Carril Peter Joseph Carril (July 10, 1930 – August 15, 2022) was an American basketball coach. He is best known as head coach of Princeton University for 30 years and for his use of the "Princeton offense". He also coached at Lehigh University an ...

. Mooney was a four-year starter at Princeton, starting all 107 games in his career and amassing 1,071 points, good for 20th place in program history. He finished second for Rookie of the Year in the

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...

as a freshman and received 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.

Coaching career

Mooney began his coaching career fresh out of college at

Lansdale Catholic High School Lansdale Catholic High School is a secondary school that is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It is located in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, United States. History The school opened in September 1949 as Little Flower Catholic Hi ...

Lansdale, Pennsylvania Lansdale is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a densely-populated commuter town, with many residents traveling daily to Philadelphia using SEPTA Regional Rail's Lansdale/Doylestown Line. In 1900, 2,754 people live ...

. In 1998, Mooney took the helm of the program at Beaver College, now known as

Arcadia University Arcadia University is a private university in Glenside, Pennsylvania. The university enrolls approximately 4,000 undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students. The campus features Grey Towers Castle, a National Historic Landmark. History Be ...

. After two years at Beaver, Mooney took an assistant coaching position under Joe Scott at the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Uni ...

. When Scott left to take the head coaching position at

in 2004, Mooney was elevated to the head position at Air Force. After one season at Air Force, Mooney became head coach at the

. The University of Richmond announced on March 27, 2011, following a run to the Sweet Sixteen in the

2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament was a single-elimination tournament involving 68 teams to determine the national champion of the 2010–11 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The 73rd edition of the NCAA tournament beg ...

that Mooney had signed a new contract running through the 2020–21 season.Mooney Signs 10-Year Contract At Richmond
With an 84–74 win over Wake Forest on December 1, 2018; Mooney tallied his 240th win at Richmond, vaulting him past

Dick Tarrant Richard Joseph Tarrant Jr. (born September 15, 1928) was the head men's basketball coach at the University of Richmond from 1981 through 1993. Tarrant, led the Spiders to five NCAA tournament and four NIT berths in his twelve seasons as head c ...

to become the winningest coach in Richmond history.

Head coaching record

College

References

External links

Richmond profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mooney, Chris 1972 births Living people Air Force Falcons men's basketball coaches American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Arcadia Knights men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Basketball players from Philadelphia College men's basketball head coaches in the United States High school basketball coaches in the United States Princeton Tigers men's basketball players Richmond Spiders men's basketball coaches