UCSD Director of Athletics Earl W. Edwards announced Bill Carr as the new head coach for the men’s basketball program on May 10. This announcement ends a six-week vacancy of the position.
Carr replaces Greg Lanthier as head coach, who coached the Tritons since the 1994-95 season. He compiled a 111-149 record in his 10 seasons at the helm of the Triton basketball program and directed the team through its transition from NCAA Division III to Division II.
After a brilliant season in 1998-99, when UCSD posted a 20-5 mark, the Tritons made a difficult move to Division II. The 2003-04 squad was just 9-18 and finished 9-11 in California Collegiate Athletic Association play. Lanthier’s contract was not renewed in March.
“This is a great opportunity for me at UC San Diego,” Carr said.
Carr looks to revitalize UCSD’s program and boost the team to an elite level by bringing strong coaching experience and an impressive resume, Edwards said.
“We are extremely excited that Coach Carr has agreed to join the UC San Diego family,” Edwards said. “His diverse coaching background and knowledge of recruiting, especially on the West Coast, made him a very logical choice.”
Carr has spent the past 14 seasons coaching collegiate men’s basketball. He spent the two previous seasons as the associate head coach at Long Beach State. Prior to arriving on Long Beach State’s campus, Carr spent three seasons as the head basketball coach for Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala. He boasted an impressive career mark of 84-23 (.785) at Spring Hill, leading the Badgers to three appearances in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics National Tournament. In 2000 and 2001, Spring Hill advanced to the NAIA Elite Eight. Spring Hill accumulated a 41-9 league mark in his three seasons and lost back-to-back games only once in 107 games.
In his first season (1999-00), Carr led Spring Hill to a 29-8 mark, a Gulf Coast Athletic Conference championship and a trip to the NAIA Tournament, where it advanced to the Elite Eight. Carr was named the GCAC Coach of the Year that season and was a finalist for the NAIA National Coach of the Year.
Spring Hill finished the season ranked No. 11 nationally and was one of the top-rated defensive teams in the NAIA that season. The 29 victories set a new school record as did the 16 league wins. In 2000-01, the Badgers were 29-8 and finished No. 12 in the country.
In his final season at Spring Hill (2001-02), the Badgers finished 26-7, won the GCAC title and advanced to the NAIA tournament, where they fell in the first round.
Prior to his time in Mobile, Carr spent nine years as an assistant coach at the University of San Francisco. During his 9 years at USF, he helped develop 10 first-team All-West Coast Conference standouts, including the 1998 and 2000 WCC Freshmen of the Year. USF advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 1998 after winning the WCC Tournament title.
Long Beach State closed out the 2004 season with a 6-21 overall record, 4-14 in the Big West conference.
