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Rick Stansbury
Stansbury in 2012
Biographical details
Born (1959-12-23) December 23, 1959 (age 65)
Battletown, Kentucky, U.S.
Playing career
1977–1981Campbellsville
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1981–1982Campbellsville (assistant)
1983–1984Cumberland (KY) (assistant)
1984–1990Austin Peay (assistant)
1990–1998Mississippi State (assistant)
1998–2012Mississippi State
2014–2016Texas A&M (assistant)
2016–2023Western Kentucky
2023–2025Memphis (assistant)
Head coaching record
Overall441–255 (.634)
Tournaments4–6 (NCAA Division I)
10–7 (NIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
2 SEC tournament (2002, 2009)
SEC Regular Season (2004)
5 SEC West Division (2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010)
C-USA East Division (2021)
C-USA Regular Season (2021)
Awards
SEC Coach of the Year (2004)

Richard Lee Stansbury (born December 23, 1959), is an American college basketball coach who most recently was an assistant coach at the University of Memphis. He was the head coach at Western Kentucky from 2016 to 2023 and at Mississippi State from 1998 to 2012. Stansbury completed his tenure at Mississippi State ranked 9th all-time in Southeastern Conference (SEC) wins. He is a member of the Campbellsville University Athletics Hall of Fame.[1]

Early life

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Born in Battletown, Kentucky, Stansbury played high school basketball for Meade County High School in Brandenburg, Kentucky from which he graduated in 1977. From 1977 to 1981, he played college basketball at Campbellsville College (now Campbellsville University) in Campbellsville, Kentucky. He led the team to the NAIA Tournament in his senior season.

Coaching career

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Early coaching career

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Stansbury began his coaching career at his alma mater as a student assistant (1982–83). Following his stint at Campbellsville, he served as a graduate assistant at Cumberland College (now University of the Cumberlands) in Williamsburg, Kentucky (1983–84). There, he helped to lead the team to a 31–5 mark and a second round appearance in the NAIA Tournament.

In 1984, Stansbury moved to Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee, where he served a six-year term as an assistant, helping guide that team to three consecutive winning seasons, beginning with a conference tournament championship and a subsequent NCAA tournament second round berth during the 1986–87 season, while the Governors posted a mark of 20–12.[2]

Mississippi State

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After leaving Austin Peay, Stansbury served as an assistant coach at Mississippi State under Richard Williams from 1990 to 1994. He became Williams' associate head coach and top recruiter in 1994 and remained in that position until 1998. During those eight seasons, the Bulldogs won the Southeastern Conference (SEC) regular season championship (1991), twice won the SEC West crown (1995 and 1996), won the SEC tournament championship (1996); advanced to the Sweet 16 in back to back years (1995 and 1996) and reached the Final Four in 1996.[3]

Taking over the helm as the Bulldogs head coach in 1998, Stansbury led his team to postseason tournament play 11 times in 14 seasons (six NCAA and five NIT tournaments), with five consecutive post-season tournament appearances, the first MSU basketball coach in history to accomplish this feat. His 2001–02 MSU team compiled the most wins in a single season in school history (27). Also achieved the highest national ranking in school history in 2003–04, No. 2 in the country (finished 26–4). Stansbury also owns MSU's record for consecutive 20-win seasons with four from 2001 to 2005 and again from 2006 to 2010.[3]

From his days as an MSU assistant until 2012, Stansbury was part of over 15 postseason tournament appearances. Prior to his arrival at Mississippi State, MSU had two post-seasons in 27 years (both NIT). He was also 21–8 vs conference in-state rival, the Mississippi Rebels.

During the 2007–08 season, Stansbury passed Williams as the all-time most successful basketball coach at Mississippi State, with 192 wins. [3][2] Stansbury retired with 293 wins, ranking 9th in the history of the SEC. Stansbury announced his retirement on March 15, 2012; he cited a desire to spend more time with his family.[4]

Texas A&M

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In May 2014, he was back into coaching as an assistant at Texas A&M under Billy Kennedy.[5] On April 10, 2015, Stansbury was promoted to Associate Head Coach.[6] Stansbury was instrumental in assembling a recruiting class for the Aggies that earned a consensus top-10 national ranking and was widely viewed as one of the most impressive in the school’s history. [7] During the 2015-2016 season, Texas A&M won their first SEC Regular Season title in school history. They also advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA tournament, after the historic comeback victory against the University of Northern Iowa.

Western Kentucky

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On March 28, 2016, Stansbury was hired as head coach at Western Kentucky University, replacing Ray Harper who resigned March 17, 2016. [8][9][10] Stansbury resigned on March 11, 2023, citing needing to focus on his health and family.[11] During Stansbury's time on the Hill, he led the Hilltoppers to four 20-win seasons, a Conference USA Eastern Season title, a NIT semifinal appearance, and a Conference USA Regular Season title during his tenure.

Stansbury led Western Kentucky to 11 victories over Power Five teams, including three wins against ranked opponents.[12] In comparison, the remaining 13 teams in Conference USA collectively secured just seven such wins.[13] The Hilltoppers defeated the in-state rival Louisville Cardinals during the 2020-21 season, marking the program's first ever win over Louisville in E.A. Diddle Arena. [14] Between 2017 and 2022, Western Kentucky consistently ranked among the top teams in the conference, finishing either first or second in the regular season or conference tournament each year. [15] During that time, Western Kentucky achieved outright top 3 finishes in conference play for four-consecutive seasons, the first time they’ve done so since 1969-72. [16] In 2021-22, the Hilltoppers became the first team in Conference USA history to reach the conference championship game in three consecutive seasons.[17]

Memphis

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Shortly after his tenure at Western Kentucky, Stansbury was hired as an assistant under Penny Hardaway. While Hardaway was suspended in 2023-24, Stansbury won all three games he coached, including a win at Missouri. [18] Stansbury was tasked with recruiting and constructing the 2024-25 roster through the transfer portal.[19] On September 4, 2024, Hardaway announced Stansbury would not be retained. The 2024-25 team had three players named to the American Conference First Team, the most from the same team in American Conference history.[20] Memphis in 2024-25 won the American Conference Regular Season for the first time in school history.[21]

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Mississippi State Bulldogs (Southeastern Conference) (1998–2012)
1998–99 Mississippi State 20–13 8–8 3rd (West) NIT first round
1999–00 Mississippi State 14–16 5–11 5th (West)
2000–01 Mississippi State 18–13 7–9 4th (West) NIT quarterfinal
2001–02 Mississippi State 27–8 10–6 2nd (West) NCAA Division I Round of 32
2002–03 Mississippi State 21–10 9–7 1st (West) NCAA Division I Round of 64
2003–04 Mississippi State 26–4 14–2 1st (West) NCAA Division I Round of 32
2004–05 Mississippi State 23–11 9–7 3rd (West) NCAA Division I Round of 32
2005–06 Mississippi State 15–15 5–11 5th(West)
2006–07 Mississippi State 21–14 8–8 1st (West) NIT semifinal
2007–08 Mississippi State 23–11 12–4 1st (West) NCAA Division I Round of 32
2008–09 Mississippi State 23–13 9–7 3rd (West) NCAA Division I Round of 64
2009–10 Mississippi State 24–12 9–7 1st (West) NIT second round
2010–11 Mississippi State 17–14 9–7 2nd (West)
2011–12 Mississippi State 21–12 8–8 6th NIT first round
Mississippi State: 293–166 (.638) 122–102 (.545)
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (Conference USA) (2016–2023)
2016–17 Western Kentucky 15–17 9–9 7th
2017–18 Western Kentucky 27–11 14–4 3rd NIT semifinal
2018–19 Western Kentucky 20–14 11–7 2nd
2019–20 Western Kentucky 20–10 13–5 2nd Postseason not held
2020–21 Western Kentucky 21–8 11–3 1st NIT quarterfinal
2021–22 Western Kentucky 19–13 11–7 2nd (East)
2022–23 Western Kentucky 17–16 8–12 6th
Western Kentucky: 139–89 (.610) 77–47 (.621)
Total: 442–255 (.634)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

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  1. ^ "Tiger Tracks", The Campbellsvillian, Vol. 12, No. 2 (Summer 2014), p. 25
  2. ^ a b "Mstateathletics.com". Archived from the original on 2006-11-21. Retrieved 2006-12-24.
  3. ^ a b c http://www.mstateathletics.com/doc_lib/mbk_0607mg_history.pdf[permanent dead link‍]
  4. ^ "Miss. St.'s Stansbury retiring after 14 seasons". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
  5. ^ "Stansbury joins Texas A&M's coaching staff". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
  6. ^ 12thman.com
  7. ^ Texas A&M Athletics. “Rick Stansbury – Men's Basketball Coach.” 12thMan.com, https://12thman.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/rick-stansbury/427. Accessed April 10, 2025.
  8. ^ "Western Kentucky University Athletics". www.wkusports.com. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
  9. ^ "It's official: WKU hires Stansbury as coach". The Clarion Ledger. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
  10. ^ "It's official: WKU hires Stansbury as coach". USA TODAY Sports. 2016-03-28. Retrieved 2017-08-29.
  11. ^ "Rick Stansbury resigns as WKU Men's Basketball Head Coach". 11 March 2023.
  12. ^ "Men's Basketball Archive." Western Kentucky University Athletics, 30 Apr. 2018, wkusports.com/sports/2018/4/30/mens-basketball-archive.
  13. ^ "Rick Stansbury." University of Memphis Athletics, 28 Apr. 2023, gotigersgo.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/rick-stansbury/3519.
  14. ^ "Tops Earn First-Ever Win Over Louisville in Diddle Arena, 82-72." Western Kentucky University Athletics, December 18, 2021. Retrieved from https://wkusports.com/news/2021/12/18/tops-earn-first-ever-win-over-louisville-in-diddle-arena-82-72
  15. ^ "WKU Hilltopper Basketball Media Guides." Western Kentucky University Athletic Department. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  16. ^ "WKU Hilltopper Basketball Media Guides." Western Kentucky University Athletic Department. Retrieved April 30, 2021.
  17. ^ Conference USA. (2024). Men's Basketball Record Book: Through 2023-24. Retrieved from https://conferenceusa.com/documents/2024/7/3/MBB_RECORD_BOOK_MASTER_through_23_24_.pdf
  18. ^ "Memphis basketball: Rick Stansbury breaks down win at Missouri." *The Commercial Appeal*. 2023-11-10. Retrieved 2025-04-08. https://www.commercialappeal.com/videos/sports/college/memphis-tigers/2023/11/10/memphis-basketball-rick-stansbury-breaks-down-win-at-missouri/71542883007/
  19. ^ Hitmen Hoops. (2023, March 30). [Tweet]. *X*. https://x.com/HitmenHoops/status/1903926839392796673
  20. ^ "American Athletic Conference announces 2024-25 men's basketball awards." *The American*. 2025-03-11. Retrieved 2025-04-08. https://theamerican.org/news/2025/3/11/american-athletic-conference-announces-2024-25-mens-basketball-awards.aspx#:~:text=Memphis%20had%20three%20members%20of,State%20senior%20guard%20Xavier%20Bell.
  21. ^ Memphis basketball wins first-ever American Athletic Conference title. "Memphis basketball wins first-ever American Athletic Conference title." *Yahoo Sports*. 2024-03-10. Retrieved 2025-04-08. https://sports.yahoo.com/article/memphis-basketball-wins-first-ever-041302156.html
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