Chris Graves Named New Birmingham Southern Head Basketball Coach

On June 3, 2011 Chris Graves succeeded Mitch Cole as Head Coach of the Panthers. Graves served as Assistant Coach for three seasons under Cole from 2008-2011. Through tenacious recruiting and innovative defensive strategy, Graves’ steady hand helped guide the Panthers to a 2010 Eastern Division crown, as well as an outright SCAC Conference Championship in 2011. BSC Athletic Director Joe Dean Jr. had this to say of Graves:

“We are very fortunate to have a person and coach of Chris Graves’ caliber right here on our staff to continue the tradition of winning basketball at Birmingham-Southern. Chris has seven years of college experience and has a remarkable record of achievement as a high school head coach as well. He has been an integral part of our program the past three seasons, two of which have resulted in conference championships. We look forward to moving forward under Chris’ leadership.”

Prior to BSC, Graves coached at both the high school and NCAA Division 1 levels. At Pell City High School (2006-2008) Graves was the architect of the greatest single-season turnaround in school history, going from four wins in the 2006-07 season to twenty-four wins during the 2007-08 campaign. He was awarded the County coach of the year following this turnaround season. In Nashville, TN, Graves averaged 25+ wins for three years at Columbia Central High School (2003-2005) where he was twice awarded  District Coach of The Year honors. In Division 1, Graves served as Assistant Coach at Tennessee State University (2001-2003) and was a graduate assistant at The University of Arkansas (1999-2001). Coach Graves is eager to connect BSC’s rich tradition to its’ bright future and welcomes the challenges that lie ahead:

“I would like to thank BSC President General Charles Krulak, Joe Dean, my family, and the entire Panther community for this great opportunity. I consider it an honor to be named the head basketball coach of this outstanding program. Birmingham Southern basketball has a rich history of championship level basketball, coupled with a history of producing some of the brightest graduates you will find. We return the core of a conference championship team this season, and I am excited about the things in store for this program. I challenge people to support our program. It represents everything that is right about college basketball.”