Alum, Former Coach Tabbed to Lead West Virginia Men’s Basketball Program

Lion alum and former assistant basketball coach Ross Hodge was recently announced as the new head coach of the West Virginia University Men’s Basketball team.

West Virginia is coming off of a 19-13 season where the team failed to make a postseason tournament. Historically, the Mountaineers have appeared in 31 NCAA Tournaments and have appeared in the NIT 16 times, winning the tournament twice. The program is best known as the alma mater of Jerry West, basketball hall-of-famer and the silhouette featured in the logo of the National Basketball Association.

Hodge is coming off of his first head coaching stint at an NCAA Division I program, having led the University of North Texas to 46 victories and two trips to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in two seasons.

Hodge is a two-time graduate of Texas A&M University-Commerce (now East Texas A&M University), earning a bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology & Sports Studies in 2003 and a master’s in Health, Kinesiology & Sports Studies in 2006.

While a student, Hodge excelled as a member of the Lion Men’s Basketball team. He appeared in 57 career games and is currently ranked third in program history with a career average of 5.7 assists per game. During his senior season, the Department of Athletics awarded him with the Terry Allen Award for leadership.

Immediately following graduation, Hodge signed on as an assistant coach for the Lions. Since leaving East Texas A&M in 2005, he has held head coaching roles at Paris Junior College and Midland College, as well as assistant positions with Southern Mississippi, Colorado State and Arkansas State. While an assistant at Arkansas State in 2016, he was honored by Lion Athletics with the Bobby Fox Award, which is given to an outstanding alumni coach. His combined record as a head coach at the junior college and Division I level stands at 192-48, or a winning percentage of 80 percent.

“We believe we have everything we need to be successful and to challenge for Big 12 championships and look forward to competing against the best coaches and best teams in the country,” Hodge said in an introductory press release.