chattanooga MOCS

Alma Mater: Penn State '97
Hired Date: March 2022

Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball has found its new leader. Dan Earl became the 22^nd head coach of the program on March 31, 2022.
 
"After looking at many great candidates interested in our men's basketball head coaching position, Dan Earl stood out among an impressive group," stated Vice Chancellor & Director of Athletics Mark Wharton. "We conducted a thorough search process, but it was quickly clear that Dan was the best person to lead our program."

A familiar name and face, Earl came to the Scenic City following a seven-year stint as the head coach of Southern Conference foe VMI. Earl led the Keydets to its first winning season since 2013-14 after finishing 13-12 (11-1 at home) and claiming SoCon Coach of the Year honors in 2020-21. That team also made a semifinal appearance for the first time since 2003.
 
"He is extremely well-respected among his peers and comes with years of head coaching experience at our level. I look forward to watching him continue to build on the foundation of success Chattanooga Basketball has built over the years," added Wharton.
 
"I am honored and extremely excited to be the next head basketball coach at UTC," said the new ball coach. "I would like to thank Mark Wharton and Chancellor Dr. Steven Angle for this amazing opportunity. During the process, I really connected with Mark and the search committee and I am confident that this is an outstanding fit for my family and UTC."

In Earl's second season with the Mocs in 2023-24, the team finished with a 21-12 overall record while ending 12-6 inside Southern Conference play which resulted in a third-place finish. The 21 wins were the most for Earl in his nine seasons as an NCAA DI head coach and marked the program's 22nd, 20-win season all-time. The team featured All-SoCon performers in Trey Bonham (first team), Honor Huff (second team) and Sam Alexis (third team & defensive), in addition to the SoCon Sixth Man of the Year Jan Zidek.

UTC finished a healthy 12-4 inside McKenzie Arena during the 2023-24 season to match the most home wins since 2021-22 and most since 13 home wins in 2015-16. The squad became the 23rd team in program history to amass 12 or more home wins in a season. The Mocs averaged a crowd size of 3,241 per game in 2023-24, the second-largest average attendance for the team since the 2015-2016 season.

Away from home in 2023-24? One for the record books. The Mocs finished with an 8-7 road mark which featured a string of six-straight SoCon road victories spanning from January 17-February 10. The streak tied the longest such stretch in program history and was the first of its kind since 1992-93 and marked just the fourth time accomplishing the feat all-time. 

It was instant success in Earl's first year as the bench boss at UTC during the 2022-23 campaign after the team finished 18-17 overall and reached the Southern Conference Tournament championship game for the 20th time in program history. The No. 7 seeded Chattanooga Mocs nearly capped off an incredible March run in Asheville, N.C., before falling to top-seeded Furman in a title game rematch from the previous season.

The Mocs almost became the first team since Clemson in 1939 to earn a Southern Conference Tournament title when having to win four games in a four day stretch. UTC defeated No. 10 VMI, No. 2 Samford and No. 6 Wofford in route to earning its spot in the championship game. 

Under a fast-paced and high-scoring offensive system, Chattanooga finished the season first in all of NCAA Division I basketball in 2022-23 in threes made per game (11.4) and ranked second in three-point attempts per game (30.2). The Mocs set school records in all three-point categories including an NCAA DI best 398 total threes made during the season, 13 more than second-place Penn State (Earl's alma mater).

The 2022-23 campaign featured lofty accolades from All-Southern Conference star Jake Stephens, whom transferred to the Scenic City following a four-year career at VMI under Earl and was key in the Mocs run during tournament play. Stephens scored 92 points over the four-game stretch to notch a new UTC program record for points at the SoCon Tournament. He posted 20 or more points in each of the four games including 25 points and eight rebounds in the title game against Furman.

Stephens finished the season averaging 22.0 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.2 blocks per game while becoming the 26^th Moc in program history to score 500 or more points in a single season (527) and was one of just two players in NCAA Division I during the year (Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana) to average at least 20 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 blocks per contest.

Stephens, whose development at the collegiate level was directed by Earl for all five years, became the only player in NCAA DI basketball since at least 1992-93 to post 1,900 career points (1,943), 900 total rebounds (964), 350 assists (366) and 200 blocks (206) in a career, according to Sports Reference College Basketball's stat database.

Following the 2022-23 season, Earl helped guide newcomer Sam Alexis to Southern Conference All-Freshman honors following a solid rookie campaign. Stephens was tabbed to the All-SoCon First Team (media), All-SoCon Second Team (coaches) and SoCon All-Tournament Team while graduate Jamal Johnson also earned All-Tournament honors. 

Before UTC, Earl helped guide VMI to consecutive .500 or better seasons for the first time since 2010-12 and just the second time in program history since a four-year stretch from 1974-1978. In conference play, back-to-back .500 seasons (7-7 in 20-21, 9-9 in 21-22) were achieved for just the first time since 1997-1999 when the SoCon competed in a divisional format.
 
Earl previously served as an assistant at his alma mater Penn State from 2006-11 before obtaining associate head coach responsibilities at Navy from 2011-15. At Navy, Earl served as the recruiting director and played a vital role on the offensive side of the ball. He helped the Midshipmen double conference wins in each of the first four seasons under head coach Ed DeChellis.
 
In Happy Valley, Earl helped lead the Nittany Lions to an NCAA Tournament berth in 2011, the program's first in 10 years, and a 2009 NIT Championship that saw the team record a school record 27 wins. He helped develop All-Big 10 selection Talor Battle, who became the lone player in Big 10 history to surpass 2,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists in a career.
 
In his playing days, Earl was a three-time team captain, a 1996 All-Big Ten selection and helped lead the program to one of its best stretches in program history. PSU went 73-46 during his playing career while Earl posted 1,256 career points (15^th all-time), 574 assists (2^nd all-time) and 194 threes (7^th all-time). He played professionally on the international side in addition to stints stateside in the Continental Basketball Association and NBA Development League.
 
Personally, Earl comes from a heavily-rooted basketball family. His father, Denny, started at forward for Rutgers in the 60's under head coach Bill Foster and alongside the late Jim Valvano. His younger brother, Brian, started for Princeton from 1996-99 and helped the program win 95 games during that span – most of any player in school history. Brian is currently the head coach at William & Mary (ahead of 2024-25) after spending the previous eight seasons at Cornell.
 
Earl received a Bachelor of Science degree in marketing from Penn State in December of 1997 and achieved a master's degree in business logistics from PSU in 2007. He and his wife, Sheila, have two daughters, Mila and Alyssa.
 
DAN EARL FAST FACTS
- VMI head coach (2015-22)
- 2020-21 Southern Conference Coach of the Year
- Nathanial Pendleton '22 Distinguished Coaching Award in 2021
- VMI led the country in 3PT made per game (12.5) in 2021-22, second in 2020-21 (10.8)
- VMI posted most successful consecutive seasons from 2020-22 in nearly a decade
- Associate head coach at Navy (2011-15), assistant coach at Penn State (2006-11)
- All-Big 10 player at Penn State (1993-99), professional player (1999-2002)
- Wife: Sheila – Daughters (2): Mila, Alyssa
- Born: December 10, 1974 (49)
- Hometown: Medford Lakes, New Jersey

DAN EARL ON ACCEPTING UTC JOB
"I am very aware of the proud history of Chattanooga basketball. My staff and I will work tirelessly to continue the winning ways and plan on competing for championships. I can't wait to get started, Go Mocs!"

DAN EARL YEAR-BY-YEAR HEAD COACHING RECORD

Year	School	Overall	Conf.	Place	Postseason
2015-16	VMI	9-21	4-14	9th
2016-17	VMI	6-24	3-15	10th
2017-18	VMI	9-21	4-14	9th
2018-19	VMI	11-21	4-14	9th
2019-20	VMI	9-24	3-15	9th
2020-21	VMI	13-12	7-7	6th
2021-22	VMI	16-16	9-9	6th	CBI Opening Round
2022-23	Chattanooga	18-17	7-11	7th	SoCon Tournament Runner-Up
2023-24	Chattanooga	21-12	12-6	3rd	SoCon Tournament Semis
	at Chattanooga (2 years)	39-29 (.574)	19-17 (.528)
Totals	9 Years	112-168 (.400)	53-105 (.335)