Updated April 2016
Matt McCall had quite the debut for the Chattanooga Mocs. In his first campaign, his squad set a school record for wins with 29, captured the Southern Conference Regular Season and Tournament Championships and competed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Mocs ignited the Scenic City from the jump with victories at Georgia, Illinois and Dayton. The triumph over the Flyers snapped their 26-game home winning streak.
The 29 wins was the most in the nation by a first-year head coach in 2015-16. The total is tied for seventh-best since 1962.
It was a historic run. The tourney crown and NCAA appearance were the first since 2009. The last regular season league title was 1994. The previous wins record of 27 dated back to the 1982 edition which went 27-4, matching the total the 1977 NCAA DII National Champions posted (27-5).
For his efforts, he earned Southern Conference Coach of the Year honors per the league’s coaches and media. He is quick to point out the secret of his success.
"I think all of the credit goes to these players. When you have a group of individuals that are completely selfless and want to put the team first, as talented as they were, that gives you a chance to do something special.
"And they did."
The 2015-16 Mocs featured the SoCon Defensive Player of the Year in Justin Tuoyo and All-SoCon performers in Tuoyo and Tre’ McLean. The team bonded tightly together through adversity.
Following a 6-2 start, preseason SoCon Player of the Year Casey Jones went down with a season-ending injury prior to the win at Dayton. They went 23-4 the rest of the way.
When pressed for a word to sum up the 2015-16 Mocs, McCall used "unselfish", "remarkable" and "fun" before settling on a term that likely epitomizes what made this group go: TOUGHNESS.
"They never flinched," he added. "Even when Casey went down. He was leading us in so many statistical categories, and they never once flinched. They continued to stay focused on the team. It's a tribute to their perseverance. When adversity hit, they stayed resilient, kept working and played for each other.
"That's where that toughness came from."
McCall was introduced as the Mocs’ 19th head coach on April 13, 2015. He joined the program after spending the past four years as an assistant to Billy Donovan at Florida.
“Matt has done a tremendous job for the University of Florida, and he will deeply be missed,” Donovan noted at the time. “I knew it would take a special situation for Matt to leave, and without question, Chattanooga is a great opportunity. The Mocs are getting a great coach and an even better person. Matt will do a tremendous job.”
McCall spent 10 seasons total with Donovan in a variety of roles. He started out as a team manager (2003-06) and followed as director of basketball operations for two more in 2007 and 2008. The list of superlatives with the program is long and proud.
In his last four year in Gainesville, McCall aided the Gators to 2013 and 2014 SEC Regular Season Championships. The 2014 team also captured the tournament title as part of an epic run to the Final Four. That squad won 30 straight games, with an 18-0 SEC ledger, before a loss to eventual national champion UConn in the Final Four.
The Gators averaged 26.8 wins (107-39) per year over that stretch. Along with the two SEC regular season and one tournament title, the program went 50-20 (.714) in league play. UF advanced to three NCAA Elite Eights as well.
One of the first things you hear about McCall is his energy and enthusiasm in the program, especially in the area of recruiting. In the last four years, he helped land a top 5 (2013) class, which included two McDonald’s All-Americans in Chris Walker and Kasey Hill. The Gators also had a top 10 group in 2014. McCall was instrumental in adding All-SEC guard Michael Frazier and DeVon Walker in the 2012 class.
In his first run with the Gators, he was a part of the legendary teams of the mid-2000’s. He was head manager on the 2006 NCAA National Champions and was in charge of ops during the 2007 repeat performance as kings of the college basketball world. In total, Florida won two National Championships along with three SEC regular season and four tourney titles in his 10 campaigns. The NCAA Tourney record was an impressive 24-6 (.800) during that time, reaching the Elite Eight five times and Final Four thrice.
Between stints in Gainesville, McCall was an assistant to Mike Jarvis at Florida Atlantic for three seasons. There he developed his reputation as an energetic recruiter in aiding Jarvis’ building of the program. The Owls went just 6-26 in that first season, 14 the next year prior to the school’s best DI campaign with a 21-11 mark in 2010-11.
That squad won the Sun Belt regular season and earned just the second postseason berth in FAU history in the 2011 NIT. His recruiting efforts netted such notables as Greg Gantt, Dennis Mavin and Raymond Taylor. Gantt ranked among the league as well as national leaders in scoring and 3pt shooting in his career at FAU.
McCall joins an impressive list in the Donovan coaching tree. One of them has good insight to Chattanooga basketball along with McCall, and he is enthusiastic in his support.
“Matt McCall is a terrific coach who comes from an outstanding basketball background,” Texas Head Coach Shaka Smart stated. “He has been a key component on some extremely successful teams, and he will bring an infectious energy to Chattanooga.”
McCall completed his undergraduate degree in exercise and sports science in 2004. His master’s work in the same concentration was accomplished in May 2006.
He is married to the former Allison Rios. The couple has two daughters, Brooklyn and Kylie.
