Two years and three months after getting fired by Louisville, veteran college basketball coach Chris Mack is back after accepting the open position at Charleston vacated by Pat Kelsey – who is now at Louisville after replacing Kenny Payne.
Mack was dismissed by Louisville in January of 2022. The program made Payne the next head coach in a move that could not have gone more poorly – as the program tanked over the last two seasons under Payne, and now will hope Kelsey can get them out of the cellar in the ACC.
For Charleston, Mack comes in hoping to keep this program relevant after Kelsey’s excellent tenure, especially as the program remains in consideration to join the Atlantic 10 as a replacement for UMass.
Mack has experience in the A-10, leading Xavier to a pair of regular season titles before they moved to the Big East, where he also took them to a title.
All told, Mack has reached the NCAA Tournament in nine of his ten seasons as a head coach, not including 2019-20 when he had Louisville at one point ranked No. 1 in the country before the tournament was cancelled due to COVID.
Back in the game.
Officially introducing our fearless leader, @CoachChrisMack #OurCity 🌴🏀 pic.twitter.com/2eHi19Rn8E
— Charleston Basketball (@CofCBasketball) April 2, 2024
Mack has had success at every stop in his career, with an overall record of 278-133. This hire sends the message that Charleston has no intention of fading back to obscurity following Kelsey’s departure, and could keep them relevant regardless of whether they take the leap to the A-10.