Chris Pompey roots have run deep in the East during a distinguished collegiate coaching that is entering his 14th season.
Pompey is now moving West to establish more success as an assistant coach at Cal State Northridge, according to first-year Matador head coach Reggie Theus.
Pompey served as an assistant coach when Theus served as head coach at New Mexico State (2005-06, 2006-07).
"Chris is a tireless recruiter, who is going to keep us connected all over the country on the recruiting trail," remarked Theus. "Chris will always get me in front of the best players in the country."
Pompey comes to CSUN after spending the previous three seasons at Seton Hall University, a school that is a member of the powerful Big East Conference. During the 2011-12 season, Seton Hall was the #1 seed in the NIT Tournament with a 21-win season.
"I am excited to be reunited with Coach Theus," said Pompey. "I look forward to working and building something great under the vision and direction of CSUN President Dr. Dianne Harrison and Athletic Director Dr. Brandon Martin."
Previous to Seton Hall, Pompey helped New Mexico State to national prominence during his four seasons with the Aggies. Highly regarded as a top recruiter, Pompey brought in student-athletes that helped the Aggies produce three 20-win campaigns, a pair of Western Athletic Conference Tournament titles (2006-07, 2009-10), a regular season league title (2007-08) and appearances in the NCAA Tournament during the 2006-07 and 2009-10 seasons.
In his first season at New Mexico State, Pompey helped recruit a Top-20 class that was rated third-best among mid-major schools in the nation by Rivals.com.
Pompey began his collegiate career at the University of Hartford in 2000 (2000-01 to 2005-06) in Connecticut where he helped the Hawks became one of the premier teams in the America East Conference. Hartford reached the semifinals of the American East Conference Championships three times (2001-02, 2002-03, 2003-04). During the 2005-06 season, then head coach Larry Harrison was named the league’s Coach of the Year.
Because of his successful efforts at Hartford, Pompey was recognized as one of the top mid-major assistant coaches in the country by Hoop Scoop from 2003-to-2006. Pompey was the team’s primary recruiting coordinator in addition to his responsibilities in coaching the wing/forward positions. Pompey helped six players earn All-Conference accolades at Hartford.
Following his coaching success at Hartford, Pompey became an assistant coach at Hampton University in Virginia. In less than a month, Pompey helped bring in a Top-50 recruiting class.
Prior to his collegiate coaching career, Pompey spent eight years as the founder, director and head coach of the DC Stars AAU basketball program in Washington, D.C. Under his leadership, the DC Stars became nationally recognized as one of the premier AAU programs in the country. From 1992-to-2000 as head coach of the DC Stars, Pompey developed more than 100 athletes who moved onto play at the Division I level.
Pompey was also an original coach for the DC Assault, one of the top AAU teams in the country.
In 1998, Pompey led the first 17-and-under team from Washington, D.C. to the championship game at the Bob Gibbon’s Tournament of Championship in North Carolina.
Pompey, a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches, has also worked with programs such as the Boys and Girls Club and the Morgan Wooten Basketball Camps.
Pompey earned his degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1984 where he was a member of the Panther’s football team (running back/wide receiver). His teammates included Hall of Famers Dan Marino (quarterback), Ricky Jackson (linebacker), and linemen Russ Grimm (offensive line) and Chris Doleman (defensive line).
Pompey joins Jason Levy as the two new assistant coaches under first-year head coach Reggie Theus.
The CSUN basketball staff is now complete with holdovers Jay Morris (assistant coach) and Lior Schwartzberg (Director of Basketball Operations).
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