Francis Named New Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Chadron State College

CHICKASHA, Okla. – After nine years at the helm for the USAO men's basketball team, Chris Francis was announced as the new head coach at Chadron State College, a NCAA DII institution in northwest Nebraska. Francis has been the USAO Head Men's Basketball Coach since 2015 and has been a part of the Drovers coaching staff since 2013.

During Francis' time at the helm, he led the Drovers to a 176-94 (.652) win-loss record, six NAIA Men's Basketball National Championship appearances, and the 2017 and 2021 SAC Tournament Championships. Additionally, Francis was named the 2022 SAC Coach of the Year as he led the Drovers to the 2021-22 SAC Regular Season Championship.

At USAO, Francis has coached one SAC Player of the Year award winner, two SAC Newcomer of the Year award winners, two SAC Tournament MVP's, six SAC All-Tournament selections, 24 All-SAC selections, nine NAIA All-American selections, and 10 of his former student-athletes have gone on to play professionally. In the 2018-19 season, Francis led the Drovers to the quarterfinals at the NAIA Men's Basketball Championship, which was USAO's best showing at the tournament since they won the national championship in 2001-02.

"I want to thank Chris and his family for their positive impact on this university, the athletic department, and especially the Chickasha community. His years as our head basketball coach were truly impressive. He is leaving the program in a much better position than it was when he took over, and he and his family will be missed." said USAO Athletic Director Mike Ross 

A native of Cleora, Okla., Francis spent a year as an assistant coach at LSU-Shreveport, a Red River Athletic Conference school with a reputation for high-quality basketball, before coming to USAO. In the year he was there, the Pilots made an appearance in the semi-finals of the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship in Kansas City, Mo.

Francis started his collegiate coaching career as a student-assistant at Rogers State University in 2011-12 as the Hillcats made an appearance in the quarterfinals at the NAIA Division I National Championship.

Prior to being a student-assistant at Roger's State, Francis played for the Hillcats. During his senior campaign, he helped lead the Cats to their first appearance in the round of eight in the team's second appearance at the national tournament. He was one of the first signees to the Hillcat program. He ended his career with 800 points and became the all-time career record holder for games played (123), steals (139) and minutes played (2,498).

Francis was one of four recipients of the Pattison Family Foundation Scholarship and was recognized as a Champion of Character.

USAO will now begin a national coaching search to find the program's new leader.

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