Rodney Terry's track record in his prior college head coaching stints

Now that Rodney Terry has officially been named as the 26^th head coach in Texas men’s basketball history, he can build on the fantastic jumpstart he gave himself in the 2022-23 season when he was “earning” the job first as an acting coach and then in an interim role.

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The Longhorns flourished in the 30 games Terry was in charge after he took the helm in December from the suspended, and eventually fired, Chris Beard. 

“We already had great, great chemistry but from that point on, we banded together like no other in terms of a band of brothers,” Terry said Tuesday. “I really wanted to try to help these guys be as successful as they could be this season, and they did an incredible, incredible job.”

Texas won 22 of those games (it was 29-9 over the course of the entire campaign), triumphed in the Big 12 tournament and captured three games in March Madness before its run ended in the Elite Eight.

There have been naysayers throughout the Longhorns’ run under Terry. Their thinking being he was successful because he was coaching Beard’s players. An examination of the final 30 games showed that Terry, and the rest of the splendid Texas staff, got the most out of his players. 

“Our entire staff really helped lay the foundation for this team,” Terry said. “I think obviously Chris, you know, was our leader in terms of the architect of really making final decisions, on putting together individual guys with our team. But we all have a say in who we brought into our program.”

Ask those who played for him through the tumultuous season and they will tell you, to a man, how much they love Terry and what he meant to them.

When it comes to this offseason, it remains to be seen how Terry fares in building “his” team with players that are either staying in Austin or coming to the 40 Acres to play for him and his staff.

“In college athletics, not just in college basketball, you’re going to have to have roster management and you have to go in and really work your roster,” Terry explained. “You start by trying to work with the players that are currently in your program. And at times you’re gonna have to re-recruit guys to come back and want to be a part of what you’re doing.”

To get a little bit of background for what to expect, Inside Texas went back and looked at Terry’s two previous stints as a head coach – at Fresno State from 2011-18 and Texas-El Paso from 2018-21. Given the fact that both Terry’s runs as a head coach were before the advent of the transfer portal, it’s a little like comparing apples and oranges but the look back certainly illustrates his ability.

Fresno State

Overall Record: 126-108
Record the season before Terry became coach (2000-11): 14-17 (6-10 in WAC)
Record the first season Terry became coach (2011-12): 13-20 (3-11 in WAC)
Records for the rest of Terry’s coaching stint:
2012-13: 11-19 (5-11 in MWC)
2013-14: 21-18 (9-9 in MWC)
2014-15: 15-17 (10-8 in MWC)
2015-16: 25-10 (13-5 in MWC)
2016-17: 20-13 (11-7 in MWC)
2017-18: 21-11 (11-7 in MWC)

Record the season after Terry left                              
2018-19: 23-9 (13-5 in MWC)

NCAA Appearances (1): 2015-16
CBI Appearances (1): 2013-14
NIT Appearances (1): 2016-17  

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UTEP

Overall Record: 37-48
Record the season before Terry became coach (2017-18): 11-20 (6-12 in C-USA)
Record the first season Terry became coach (2018-19): 8-21 (3-15 in C-USA)
Records for the rest of Terry’s coaching stint
2019-20: 17-15 (8-10 in C-USA)
2020-21: 12-12 (8-8 in C-USA)

Record the season after Terry left
2021-22: 20-14 (11-7 in C-USA)

NCAA Appearances (0)                                               
CBI Appearances (0)                                                   
NIT Appearances (0)