A veteran on the UT Arlington men’s basketball sidelines for more than a decade, Greg Young has been named the ninth head coach in program history, Director of Athletics Jim Baker announced Monday.
A 35-year coaching veteran with deep Lone Star State roots, Young recently completed his 12th season with UTA in 2020-21, having served as an assistant or associate head coach for the program since the 2009-10 campaign. He replaces Chris Ogden, who resigned last week. Young is expected to be formally introduced in a press conference later this week; details will be announced in the coming days.
“I am so humbled and excited to be named the next head men’s basketball coach at UT Arlington,” exclaimed Young. “This is a dream come true, especially at an institution I love and have called home the last dozen years. I want to thank Interim President Teik Lim and AD Jim Baker for this opportunity. I have been very blessed to have worked for two great head coaches here at UTA in Chris Ogden and Scott Cross, and I can’t thank them enough for their friendship and support.”
“There are so many people I would like to thank who have played an integral role during my time here at UTA, and I plan to personally thank each one in the near future,” Young continued. “I get emotional when I think of all our former players here at UT Arlington and how much I love those men. They are so special to me and important to our program and this tremendous institution. Most importantly, I can’t wait to coach our players another day. They are the reason I love coming to work every day, and I look forward to the future of our program as should all Mav fans. Arlington is home – there is no place like home.”
In Young’s 12 seasons with the Mavericks, UTA has gone 219-165 (.570) and advanced to the postseason four times: 2012 NIT, 2013 CIT, 2016 CIT and 2017 NIT. The Mavs were Southland Conference regular-season champions in 2011-12, reached the Western Athletic Conference Tournament championship game in 2013 and earned the Sun Belt Conference regular season title in 2017. Additionally, UTA went to back-to-back Sun Belt Tournament championship games in 2018 and 2019.
Prior to the 2020-21 season, Young was voted as the top assistant coach in the Sun Belt by his peers, as published by Stadium’s Jeff Goodman. Goodman also recognized Young as one of the top-5 assistants in the Southland Conference in 2010-11 when the Mavs were a league member.
“We didn’t need to look any further than one chair down the bench for our next head coach,” stated Baker. “Coach Young deserves this opportunity, and I’m thrilled for him and the future of our program. He has the confidence of our players, and is well-respected and held in high regard by our alumni, campus leaders and supporters.”
“I am thrilled to have Greg Young take over as head coach of the Mavericks,” said UT Arlington Interim President Teik C. Lim. “His strong and deep established relationships with players, his long, positive history with UTA and his exemplary leadership on and off the court make him the ideal choice. I have every confidence the men’s basketball program will continue to thrive under Coach Young’s direction.”
Young has previous head-coaching experience as he registered an overall record of 168-139 (.547) in 10 seasons as a junior college head coach. During that time, he had 55 players sign with four-year institutions, including 26 with Division-I schools.
“Coach Young is an incredible leader. He not only develops players into more mature decision makers on the floor, he turns boys into men,” said 2018 graduate Kevin Hervey, the program’s all-time leading rebounder and 2nd-leading scorer. “Not only does Coach Young educate on the floor, but off of it even more. He is the quintessential college coach, and there is no one more fit for the job, and no one more deserving. Thank you to UT Arlington for placing the program in great hands.”
Young came to UT Arlington from Jacksonville (Texas) College, where he spent four years as the head coach of the Jaguars. He also served as the school’s athletic director.
He led his team to a 21-10 record in 2008-09, which was one of the best seasons in school history. The Jaguars spent the majority of the season in the NJCAA national rankings, and Young was honored following the campaign as the Region XIV Coach of the Year.
Young went to Jacksonville College from Texas State where he served for five years as the Bobcats’ recruiting coordinator. During his tenure, the Bobcats played in the Southland Conference Tournament each season. He signed eight top-100 players, according to Texas Hoops, during those five seasons.
Prior to his tenure at Texas State, Young was the head coach at Hill College in Hillsboro for two seasons. He led the Rebels to consecutive Region V Tournament appearances, and in 1999-2000 led the team to the regional tournament championship game. That was the first time the school had reached the finals since 1974.
From 1994-98 Young was the head coach at Lamar Community College in Colorado. Young turned the Lopes into a Region VIX contender in his four years there, twice reaching the Region VIX tournament quarterfinals.
Young was the assistant coach at Eastern New Mexico from 1991-94. He helped lead the Greyhounds to the Lone Star Conference title in 1992 and an appearance in the NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen in the school’s first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
Young also spent time as an assistant coach at Cleburne High School during the 1990-91 season and as an assistant at Texas Wesleyan from 1986-90.
A native of Cleburne, Texas, Young was a three-sport athlete at Cleburne High, lettering in football, basketball and baseball. He then went on to play basketball at Howard Payne University where he was a four-year letterman. He was named a captain his senior season and received the distinguished Paul J. Cunningham Award for excellence and dedication his senior year.
Young graduated from Howard Payne in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education. He later earned his master’s in education from Texas Wesleyan in 1990.
UT Arlington elevates Young to Head Coach
