Two-Time National Coach of the Year Vic Schaefer preps to enter his third season at the helm of the Texas Women’s Basketball program in 2022-23.
Schaefer, a Texas native who has spent 23 of his 37 years in coaching within the state of Texas and 29 years in the Southwest, is the fifth head coach in program history.
In 17 seasons as a collegiate head coach, which also includes eights seasons at Mississippi State and seven seasons at Sam Houston State, Schaefer now owns a career record of 351-189 [.650].
The Longhorns put together a historic 2021-22 campaign during Schaefer’s second year on the Forty Acres, culminating in the program claiming its first Big 12 Championship Title since 2003 and making a second-consecutive run to the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Tournament.
UT finished the season 29-7 overall, which marked its highest win total since the 2015-16 season, and finished as the No. 6-ranked team in the county in the final Associated Press Top-25 poll, its highest finish since the 2003-04 season.
Entering the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship in Kansas City as the No. 3 seed, the Longhorns earned victories over Kansas State, No. 2-seeded Iowa State and top-seeded Baylor to capture the crown. The Longhorns’ victory over the Lady Bears snapped a 13-game losing streak dating back to Feb. 20, 2017.
With its automatic bid, Texas earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament and the right to host the regional rounds. The Longhorns took down No. 15 seed Fairfield in the opening round before defeating No. 7 seed Utah in the Round of 32, in what was the final game played inside the historic Frank Erwin Center.
Securing a trip the Sweet Sixteen in Spokane, Wash., the Longhorns earned a wire-to-wire victory over No. 5 seed Ohio State to punch a ticket to their second-straight Elite Eight, where they fell just short of the Final Four with a narrow 59-50 loss to No. 1 seed Stanford. UT’s back-to-back appearances in the regional final was their first repeat appearance since the Longhorns made five-straight Elite 8 appearances from 1986-90.
As a head or assistant coach, Schaefer has now been a part of one NCAA Championship, three NCAA Championship Games, four Final Fours, Eight Elite Eights and 11 Sweet 16s. Schaefer has led his teams to an astounding five-straight Elite Eight appearances and has made the Sweet Sixteen in six-straight years dating back to the 2015-16 season.
Four Longhorns received All-Big 12 recognition in 2021-22 under Schaefer’s watch, highlighted my freshman phenom point guard Rori Harmon, who was tabbed the Big 12 Freshman of the Year and named to the All-Big 12 Second Team, All-Defensive Team and All-Freshman Team. Senior guard Joanne Allen-Taylor earned a spot on the All-Big 12 Second Team while senior center Lauren Ebo and junior guard Aliyah Matharu received All-Big 12 Honorable Mention.
Harmon also garnered plenty of national attention as she put together one of the best seasons by a freshman in school history. The Houston native received All-America Honorable Mention honors from the Associated Press and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, becoming the first freshman in school history to earn All-American status from either organization.
Harmon finished the 2021-22 season with 180 total assists which ranked No. 17 in the NCAA and broke the school record for single-season assists by a freshman. She also led the Big 12, ranked No.17 nationally with 86 steals on the year which placed her at the No. 2 spot in program history for single-season steals by a freshman.
Schaefer made quite an impression during his initial campaign on the Forty Acres by leading the Longhorns to 21 wins in 2020-21 as well as to the program’s 10th all-time NCAA Elite Eight (first since 2016). With a magical run through the NCAA Tournament, that included victories over No. 2-seed Maryland, No. 3-seed UCLA and No. 11-seed Bradley, Schaefer became just the ninth coach in Division I history to lead two different programs to the Elite Eight.
During the 2020-21 season, Schaefer helped mentor No. 1 WNBA Draft pick (Dallas Wings – first Texas player to be the top selection) and 2021 USBWA and WBCA (honorable mention) All-America center Charli Collier. The Mont Belvieu, Texas, native averaged 19.0 points and 11.3 rebounds per game, making her just the second Longhorn to average a double-double in multiple years (Retha Swindell; 1976-77 & 1977-78). She recorded 19 double-doubles, the second-most of any Division I player, and ranked in the top-15 nationally in field goals made (211), final points (590), free throws made (153), minutes played (1010:31), offensive rebounds per game (4.4) and rebounds (35). Collier also scored at least 20 points on 17 occasions, the second-most of any Big 12 player.
Schaefer also boasted four All-Big 12 Conference selections as Collier received unanimous first-team recognition, while guards Joanne Allen-Taylor, Celeste Taylor and Kyra Lambert all reaped honorable mention All-Big 12 accolades.
Before coming to Texas, Schaefer spent eight seasons as the head coach at Mississippi State (2011-20), where he led the Bulldogs to a 221-62 [.781] record and five NCAA Tournament berths, including two NCAA Championship Game appearances. Under his direction, Mississippi State won the program's first SEC regular-season championship and SEC Tournament championship and made five consecutive appearances in the SEC Tournament Championship Game, tying the University of Tennessee's record for consecutive tournament final appearances.
As a head or assistant coach, Schaefer has now been a part of one NCAA Championship, three NCAA Championship Games, four Final Fours, seven Elite Eights and 10 Sweet 16s.
Schaefer's last seven teams at Mississippi State won 20 or more games, including 30-win campaigns in three of the last four years. Under his leadership, the Bulldogs posted a school record for victories each season from 2014-18, capped by a nation-best 37-2 mark during the 2017-18 run to the NCAA Championship Game.
In 2019, Schaefer was the SEC Coach of the Year and the espnW National Coach of the Year. In 2018, he was named the Naismith National Coach of the Year and earned the same accolade from the USBWA, WBCA and College Sports Madness, in addition to being selected as the SEC Coach of the Year.
During his time in Starkville, Schaefer mentored a pair of All-Americans in Teaira McCowan and Victoria Vivians, who finished their careers as two of the most decorated players in program history. McCowan was the 2019 SEC Player of the Year and a two-time WBCA All-American. Vivians was a 2018 Associated Press All-American and won the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award as the nation's top shooting guard that same year.
Schaefer's success quickly translated to the stands, as Mississippi State was one of the national leaders in attendance in each of his final seven seasons. The top-20 largest crowds in school history occurred during his time at the helm. In 2018-19, Mississippi State set program records for total attendance [143,578] and average attendance [8,446], which ranked fourth and fifth in the country, respectively. The Bulldogs were 118-17 [.874] inside Humphrey Coliseum during his tenure.
During the summer of 2019, he was tabbed an assistant coach for the USA Basketball women's team at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, helping the team win the silver medal. That same summer, his Mississippi State squad represented Team USA at the World University Games in Naples, Italy, earning a silver medal at that event, as well. In 2007, he became the first associate head coach to be named head coach of the United States William Jones Cup Team, guiding the team to a bronze medal in Taipei, Taiwan.
Schaefer spent nine years as associate head coach to Gary Blair at Texas A&M. Nicknamed the "Secretary of Defense," Schaefer's teams consistently placed atop the Big 12 rankings in turnovers forced, steals and turnover margin. In 2011, the Aggies won the National Championship in the program's first trip to the Final Four.
Schaefer was also part of Texas A&M squads that won two Big 12 Tournament titles [2010 & 2008] and the conference regular-season title in 2007.
Schaefer accompanied Blair to Texas A&M following a six-year stint as associate head coach at Arkansas from 1997-2003. During that run, he helped the Razorbacks to four NCAA Tournament appearances, including a Final Four berth in his inaugural season.
Schaefer went to Arkansas after serving as head women's coach at Sam Houston State from 1990-97. In 1996, he was tabbed the Southland Conference Coach of the Year after leading the Bearkats to their most wins in a decade [18]. During his first year with the program, he coached Sierena Autman to Southland Conference Player of the Year accolades.
A native of Austin, Texas, Schaefer served as a men's assistant coach at Sam Houston State [1987-89] between stints as the assistant boys' basketball coach and head tennis coach at Houston's Milby High School. As a player, Schaefer was an all-state performer in basketball, football and baseball at Houston Lutheran High School before going on to play two seasons of collegiate basketball at Alvin Community College. He graduated from Texas A&M in 1984.
Schaefer and his wife, Holly, who played basketball at Arkansas State and later served as an assistant coach at UT Arlington, have twin children, Blair and Logan, both of whom graduated from Mississippi State during the 2017-18 year. Blair Schaefer currently serves as Texas’ Assistant Coach.