The University of North Texas has hired Ross Hodge as its new head men’s basketball coach.
Vice President and Director of Athletics Jared Mosley made the move official on Sunday.
“I’m excited to announce the elevation of Ross Hodge to serve as our next head coach for UNT Men’s Basketball,” Mosley said in a news release from the university.
“Ross has been an integral part of the culture and identity of this team the past six years and has earned the opportunity to lead us into the American Athletic Conference. His experience as a head coach who won more than 85 percent of his games over five seasons, his ability to attract high-level talent, and his track record of building a championship culture will serve our program well moving forward. I’m happy to have Ross, Shelly, Emery and Reed representing UNT in this new capacity.”
Hodge spent the last six seasons as an assistant for the Mean Green and got promoted to replace Grant McCasland, who has been hired as the new head coach at Texas Tech.
“I would like to thank President Neal Smatresk and Director of Athletics Jared Mosley for the opportunity to be the next head coach at the University of North Texas,” Hodge said in the release.
“For the past six years we have poured our hearts into building a championship level program that this university and community can be proud of. I’m forever grateful to all the players and staff, past and present, who have helped us get here. We look forward to building on that amazing success and competing for more championships. My family and I couldn’t be more excited to continue being part of the Denton community and Mean Green Nation.”
Hodge was named by the 2022 Texas Association of Basketball Coaches as the Division I Assistant Coach of the Year and has been an essential part of turning North Texas into one of the best defensive teams in the country, allowing just 55.8 points per game this past season.
Hodge becomes the 19th head coach in program history and will lead the Mean Green into a new chapter as the university joins the American Athletic Conference in July.
This will be his first head coaching job at the Division I level. He has been an assistant with many DI programs, such as Southern Mississippi, Colorado State, and Arkansas State, and has previous head coaching experience at the junior college level.
His junior college teams went 144-24 in his five previous seasons as a head coach.
The school will hold a press conference introducing Hodge as the new head coach at noon CT on Wednesday.
