Christopher Scott Mooney (born August 7, 1972) is an American

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

coach and the current head men's basketball coach at the

University of Richmond The University of Richmond (UR or U of R) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Richmond, Virginia, United States. It is a primarily undergraduate, residential institution with approxim ...

. Prior to taking the helm of the

Spiders Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species di ...

basketball program, he was the head coach at

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

. In his only year there, he led the Falcons to their second best record in school history (18–12). He played college basketball at

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

. As a four-year starter at Princeton, he ranks 22nd on the school's all-time leading scoring list with 1,071 points, and 11th in three-point field goals made (142).

Early years and college

Mooney was born and raised in working-class neighborhood in Philadelphia, spending his high school years at

Archbishop Ryan High School Archbishop Ryan High School is a Roman Catholic high school located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Its namesake is Patrick John Ryan, who served as the second Archbishop of Philadelphia from 1884 to 1911. Established in 1966, Archbishop Ryan Hi ...

as the child of a single father after his mother died from breast cancer when he was 13 years old. Mooney's father was a

Greyhound The English Greyhound, or simply the Greyhound, is a dog breed, breed of dog, a sighthound which has been bred for coursing, greyhound racing and hunting. Some are kept as show dogs or pets. Greyhounds are defined as a tall, muscular, smooth-c ...

bus driver. In 1990, Mooney enrolled at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, majoring in English and playing basketball for legendary coach

Pete Carril Peter Joseph Carril (; July 10, 1930 – August 15, 2022) was an American basketball coach. He is best known as head coach of Princeton University for 30 years and for his use of the " Princeton offense". He also coached at Lehigh University a ...

. Mooney was a four-year starter at Princeton, starting all 107 games in his career and amassing 1,071 points, good for 20th place in program history. He finished second for Rookie of the Year in the

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

as a freshman and received honorable mention all-conference honors as a sophomore, First Team All-Ivy League honors as a junior and Second Team All-Ivy League honors in his senior year.

Coaching career

Mooney began his coaching career fresh out of college at

Lansdale Catholic High School Lansdale Catholic High School is a secondary school that is part of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It is located in Lansdale, Pennsylvania, United States. History The School opened in September 1949 under the name of Little Flowe ...

Lansdale, Pennsylvania Lansdale is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a densely populated commuter town, with many residents traveling daily to Philadelphia using SEPTA Regional Rail's Lansdale/Doylestown Line. I ...

. In 1998, Mooney took the helm of the program at Beaver College, now known as

Arcadia University Arcadia University is a private university in Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania, with a Glenside mailing address. The university enrolls approximately 3,200 undergraduate, master's, and doctoral students. The 94-acre (380,000 m2) Glenside cam ...

. After two years at Beaver, Mooney took an assistant coaching position under Joe Scott at the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Air Force Academy, Colorado, Air Force Academy Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs. I ...

. When Scott left to take the head coaching position at

in 2004, Mooney was elevated to the head position at Air Force. After one season at Air Force, Mooney became head coach at the

. The University of Richmond announced on March 27, 2011, following a run to the Sweet Sixteen in the

2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2011 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament that determined the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's basketball national champion for the 2010-11 ...

that Mooney had signed a new contract running through the 2020–21 season.Mooney Signs 10-Year Contract At Richmond
With an 84–74 win over Wake Forest on December 1, 2018; Mooney tallied his 240th win at Richmond, vaulting him past

Dick Tarrant Richard Joseph Tarrant Jr. (born September 15, 1928) was the head men's basketball coach at the University of Richmond from 1981 through 1993. Tarrant, led the Spiders to five NCAA tournament and four NIT berths in his twelve seasons as head ...

to become the winningest coach in Richmond history. On February 17, 2023, Richmond announced that Mooney would miss the remainder of the 2022–23 season due to heart surgery to address an aneurysm in his ascending aorta. Assistant coach and former Richmond player Peter Thomas served as interim head coach in Mooney's absence. Mooney returned to the bench shortly after the conclusion of the season.

Head coaching record

College

*Mooney was on medical leave of absence from February 17 through the season end, missing the final six games of the season.

References

External links

Richmond profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mooney, Chris 1972 births Living people Air Force Falcons men's basketball coaches American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Arcadia Knights men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania Basketball players from Philadelphia College men's basketball head coaches in the United States High school basketball coaches in Pennsylvania Princeton Tigers men's basketball players Richmond Spiders men's basketball coaches 20th-century American sportsmen