Chris Acker (born May 1, 1980) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of the

Long Beach State Beach Long Beach State athletics, or simply Beach athletics (previously known as the 49ers), are the athletic teams that represent California State University, Long Beach. Teams compete in 19 sports at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCA ...

Early life and playing career

Acker was born on May 1, 1980. He grew up in

Compton, California Compton is a city located in the Gateway Cities region of southern Los Angeles County, California, United States, situated south of downtown Los Angeles. Compton is one of the oldest cities in the county, and on May 11, 1888, was the eighth ci ...

, but attended St. James School, Maryland. He was a nominee for the

McDonald's All-American Game The McDonald's All-American Game is an American all-star basketball game played each year for boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the conclusion of the hi ...

at St. James. Afterwards, he played two seasons at

Howard College Howard College is a Public college, public community college with its main campus in Big Spring, Texas. It also has branch campuses in San Angelo, Texas, San Angelo and Lamesa, Texas, Lamesa. History Howard County Junior College was establishe ...

in Texas before transferring to

Chaminade University of Honolulu Chaminade University of Honolulu is a private Marianist university in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. Founded in 1955 by the Society of Mary, Chaminade is located in Kaimuki, Honolulu at the base of St. Louis Heights. Chaminade offers bachel ...

. With the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

Chaminade Silverswords The Chaminade Silverswords are the 12 varsity athletic teams that represent Chaminade University of Honolulu, located in Honolulu, Hawaii, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Silverswords compete as members of the Pacific West Confe ...

, Acker saw limited action as a

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

, starting three games as a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

while having an average of five points with 13.3 minutes-per-game. Despite his limited experience at a small school, Acker declared for the

2004 NBA draft The 2004 NBA draft was held on June 24, 2004, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and was broadcast live on ESPN at 7:00 pm ( EDT). In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur colle ...

as an early entrant, something that received significant attention due to his very unlikely chances of being selected. He was not selected, but did subsequently play for several seasons internationally, including in the U.S., Greece, Portugal and China. Acker later attended the

University of Phoenix University of Phoenix (UoPX) is a Private university, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit university headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. Founded in 1976, the university confers certificates and degrees at the Ac ...

, where he received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in 2010, and received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from

Concordia University Irvine Concordia University Irvine is a private Lutheran university in Irvine, California, United States. It was established in 1976 to provide a Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod college to serve the Pacific Southwest and provide training for pastors, ...

in 2012.

Coaching career

Acker became an assistant coach at

Citrus College Citrus College is a public community college in Glendora, California. The Citrus Community College District, which supports the institution, includes the communities of Azusa, Claremont, Duarte, Glendora, and Monrovia. Citrus Union High Scho ...

in 2007 and remained an assistant through the 2012–13 season, helping them win a state championship in 2008. In 2013, he joined

West Los Angeles College West Los Angeles College (West L.A. College or WLAC) is a public community college in Culver City, Los Angeles County, California. It is part of the California Community Colleges System and the Los Angeles Community College District. It is accr ...

as head coach, and led a team that started with only true

freshmen A freshman, fresher, first year, or colloquially frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary school, post-se ...

to an 18–9 record by his second season. He became an assistant coach with the

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and Rainbow Wāhine are the athletic teams that represent the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UH), in Honolulu, Hawaii. The UH athletics program is a member of the Big West Conference in most sports and competes at ...

in 2015. In charge of defensive schemes and player development at Hawaii, he helped the team win the

Big West Conference The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's NCAA Division I, Division I. The conference was origina ...

(BWC) with an appearance in the NCAA tournament in his first season. In 2017, Acker was hired as an assistant coach for the

Boise State Broncos The Boise State Broncos are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Boise State University, located in Boise, Idaho. The Broncos compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Mount ...

. Two years later, he left to become an assistant with the

San Diego State Aztecs The San Diego State Aztecs are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent San Diego State University (SDSU). The university fields 17 varsity teams (6 men's, 11 women's) in National Collegiate Athle ...

. Starting with his second season there, Acker helped the Aztecs reach four straight NCAA tournaments, which included a 2023 appearance in the national championship. Acker was announced as the head coach of the

on April 2, 2024.

Head coaching record

NCAA DI

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Acker, Chris 1980 births Living people Guards (basketball) Basketball players from Compton, California Howard College alumni Citrus Owls men's basketball coaches Hawaii Rainbow Warriors basketball coaches Boise State Broncos men's basketball coaches San Diego State Aztecs men's basketball coaches Long Beach State Beach men's basketball coaches