Porter Andrew Moser (born August 24, 1968) is a college basketball coach who is the current head coach of the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two Territories became the state of Oklahom ...

men's basketball team. Moser spent 10 years (2011–2021) at

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Cathol ...

, helping lead the Ramblers to the Final Four in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

. Originally from Naperville, Illinois, Moser attended and played varsity basketball at

Benet Academy Benet Academy ( ) is a co-educational, college-preparatory, Benedictine high school in Lisle, Illinois, United States, overseen by the Diocese of Joliet. Founded in 1886, the school was initially established in Chicago as the all-boys St. Procopiu ...

, and then Creighton University. Moser previously held the head coaching position at

Illinois State Illinois State University (ISU) is a Public university, public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is reco ...

(2003–2007) and Arkansas-Little Rock (2000–2003). Prior to being hired at Loyola, Moser was an assistant coach at Saint Louis under

Rick Majerus Richard Raymond Majerus (February 17, 1948 – December 1, 2012) was an American basketball coach and TV analyst. He coached at Marquette University (1983–1986), Ball State University (1987–1989), the University of Utah (1989–2004), and S ...

for the 2007-08 season, and the associate head coach from 2008-11.

Playing career

During his high school career, Moser helped lead Benet Academy in suburban Lisle to a 70-14 (.833) record in three years on the varsity roster, playing for coach Bill Geist. The Naperville native led Benet to three West Suburban Catholic Conference titles and was a three-time all-conference and two-time all-area selection. As a senior, he was named Most Valuable Player in the West Suburban Catholic Conference. On May 6, 2017, he was inducted into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association (IBCA) Hall of Fame. Moser went on to play college basketball at Creighton University for coach

Tony Barone Anthony Andrew Barone Sr. (July 20, 1946June 25, 2019) was an American basketball coach and scout. A native of Chicago, he was head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Barone was appointed as the team's ...

, where he helped the Bluejays to a Missouri Valley Conference Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in 1989. He played in 102 games including 27 starts, averaging 4.6 points and 1.7 assists per game during his collegiate career.

Coaching career

Assistant

After graduating from Creighton, Moser began his coaching career in the 1990–91 season as a graduate assistant at Creighton under Barone. Following Barone to Texas A&M, Moser was an assistant there from 1991 to 1995 and helped Texas A&M make its first postseason appearance in seven years, in the

1994 National Invitation Tournament The 1994 National Invitation Tournament was the 1994 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. Of note, in Kansas State's 115–77 victory over Fresno State in the quarterfinals, Askia Jones of Kansas State set the NCAA postseaso ...

. After serving as an assistant at

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

in the 1995–96 season, Moser returned to Texas A&M for what would become Barone's final two seasons as head coach from 1996 to 1998. From 1998 to 2000, Moser was an assistant coach at Arkansas–Little Rock, under

Wimp Sanderson Winfrey "Wimp" Sanderson (born August 8, 1937) is a retired American college basketball coach. He coached at the University of Alabama from 1981 to 1992 and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock from 1994 to 1999. Sanderson was born in Flore ...

in his first season and Sidney Moncrief in his second.

Arkansas–Little Rock

Moser's first head coaching job was with Arkansas–Little Rock from 2000 to 2003. Inheriting a 4-24 team, Moser led the Trojans to an 18-11 record in his first season and finished with an overall 54-34 record. Statistically, the Trojans moved from last to first in the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participa ...

in field goal percentage defense and three-point field goal percentage defense in Moser's first season in 2000–01.

Illinois State

Moser was the head coach at

from 2003 to 2007. After finishing the 2003-04 season 10-19, Moser led Illinois State to a 17-13 overall record and sixth-place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). However, Illinois State dropped to 9-19 in 2005-06 season, including a 1–9 finish. Despite an improvement to 15–16 in 2006-07 season, Illinois State lost in the first round of the MVC Tournament for the 3rd consecutive season. Seeking a change "in the overall direction of the program," Illinois State Athletics Director Sheahon Zenger fired Moser and terminated the contracts of Moser's three assistant coaches on March 5, 2007.

Saint Louis

Ranked in the top 50 Division I assistant coaches by ''

Basketball Times ''Basketball Times'' was an American basketball magazine that was in circulation from 1978 to 2021, and was published by Akers Ink LLC. ''Basketball Times'' published monthly and mainly focused on college basketball. The headquarters was in Matthew ...

'' in 2009, Moser was an assistant coach at Saint Louis under

from 2007 to 2011, including as associate head coach from 2008 to 2011. In 2009–10, Saint Louis finished 23-13 and as CBI runners-up.

Loyola–Chicago

On April 5, 2011,

named Moser head coach of the Loyola Ramblers men's basketball team. Moser's hire followed the firing of

Jim Whitesell Jim Whitesell (born December 27, 1959) is an American college basketball coach, currently the head men's coach for the Buffalo Bulls. He has previously coached at the Division I level as a head coach at Loyola University Chicago and an assistant ...

, who went 109–107 in seven seasons. In his introductory press conference, Moser said that he aspired to make Loyola–Chicago into a

Horizon League The Horizon League is an 11-school collegiate athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, whose members are located in and near the Great Lakes region. The Horizon League founded in 1979 as the Midw ...

contender similar to

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some a ...

. Under Moser, Loyola–Chicago went 7–23 in the 2011–12 season and 15–16 in 2012–13 before moving from the Horizon League to the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) in 2013. In its first season in the MVC, Loyola–Chicago went 10–22. Moser's fourth season was his first at Loyola–Chicago with a winning record, at 24–13 (8–10 MVC) and the College Basketball Invitational title following a two-game sweep of Louisiana–Monroe. After a 15–17 season in 2015–16, Loyola–Chicago had its second winning season under Moser in 2016–17 with an 18–14 (8–10 MVC) record.

2018 Final Four run

Moser had his most successful season at Loyola–Chicago in 2017–18, with a 32–6 (15–3 MVC) record, MVC regular season and

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

titles, and appearance in the Final Four as a no. 11 seed. The MVC preseason poll picked Loyola–Chicago to finish third, with one vote picking Loyola–Chicago for first place. On December 6, 2017, Loyola–Chicago beat a top-five team for the first time since the 1984–85 season after a 65-59 away upset of no. 5

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. On March 4, 2018, Loyola–Chicago defeated Moser's former school

65-49 in the MVC tournament final to qualify for the NCAA tournament for the first time since

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

. Entering the NCAA Tournament as a no. 11 seed, Loyola–Chicago had close upset victories in the first three rounds, 64-62 over no. 6 Miami (FL) in the Round of 64, 63-62 over no. 3

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

in the Round of 32, and 69-68 over no. 7

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

in the Sweet 16. The win over Nevada was the 30th overall win for Loyola–Chicago, enough for the most wins in program history. Loyola–Chicago advanced to its first Final Four since the

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...

national title year, after a 78-62 win over no. 9 Kansas State. Loyola became only the fourth no. 11 seed to reach the Final Four, after

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

, George Mason in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

, and VCU in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

. On March 31, Loyola–Chicago lost to no. 3

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

69-57 in their Final Four game held at the

Alamodome The Alamodome is a 64,000-seat domed indoor multi-purpose stadium in San Antonio, Texas. It is located on the southeastern fringe of downtown San Antonio. The facility opened on May 15, 1993, having been constructed at a cost of $186 milli ...

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

. Prior to Final Four weekend, Moser expressed hope that his team's run in the tournament would make it easier for other mid-major programs to earn at-large NCAA Tournament bids.

Recruiting Chicago-area players

Moser had success drawing recruits from the Chicago area talent pool. Former players

Milton Doyle Milton Doyle (born October 31, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Tasmania JackJumpers of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for the Loyola Ramblers. College career A graduate of Chicago's ...

(Marshall),

Donte Ingram Donte Ingram (born August 15, 1996) is an American basketball player for Donar of the BNXT League. He played college basketball for the Loyola Ramblers. Before Loyola, he attended Simeon Career Academy and was teammates with NBA player Jabari Par ...

(Simeon), Christian Negron (Elgin), and

Cameron Krutwig Cameron Krutwig (born December 21, 1998) is an American professional basketball player for the Ibaraki Robots of the Japanese B.League . He played college basketball for the Loyola Ramblers. Krutwig drew national attention after helping the 2017 ...

(Jacobs) as well as current (2021-22) players Lucas Williamson (Whitney Young), Marquise Kennedy (Brother Rice) and Tom Welch (Naperville North) are all from the Chicago area.

Oklahoma

On April 2, 2021, Moser accepted the head coaching position at the

, succeeding retired coach Lon Kruger. Moser agreed to a 6-year contract with the Sooners. He was officially announced as the Sooners' head coach in a press conference on April 7.

Broadcasting

During the 2019 NCAA tournament, Moser signed on with CBS and Turner as a guest TV studio analyst for the second round of the tournament.

Personal life

Moser and his wife Megan have four children: Jordan, Jake, Ben, and Max.

Head coaching record

References

External links

Oklahoma bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moser, Porter 1968 births Living people Basketball coaches from Illinois Basketball players from Illinois Benet Academy alumni College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Creighton Bluejays men's basketball coaches Creighton Bluejays men's basketball players Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball coaches Little Rock Trojans men's basketball coaches Loyola Ramblers men's basketball coaches Milwaukee Panthers men's basketball coaches People from Wilmette, Illinois Saint Louis Billikens men's basketball coaches Sportspeople from Cook County, Illinois Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball coaches