Longtime Clemson assistant basketball coach Dick Bender announced his retirement from the coaching profession on Wednesday. In the meantime, USF announced the hiring of College of Charleston head coach Chris Mack as its new head coach. Mack spent two seasons with the Cougars.
Clemson release on Bender:
Clemson University men’s basketball Assistant Coach Dick Bender announced his retirement from Clemson on Wednesday. Bender served 14 years on Head Coach Brad Brownell’s staff in multiple roles, including the last 10 as an assistant coach.
“I want to congratulate Coach Bender on a great career and well-earned retirement,” said Brownell. “Coach Bender has been a part of my life since I was a college student. The mentor he’s been and the example he’s set has been invaluable in my development as a coach. His dedication, integrity and impact on our teams over the years go far beyond just the court. We would not have achieved our level of success without his hard work and professional experience. He’s been an unbelievable mentor to so many players and young staff members over his time here. He has been a tremendous representative of our program and the values we strive to uphold every day. I am grateful for his years of service to our program and wish him, his wife Beth and his family nothing but the best in this next chapter.”
Bender has been instrumental in the Tigers’ success on the court dating back to the 2010 season when Brownell hired him as director of operations. Since becoming an assistant coach in 2016-17 after two seasons working for Earl Grant at College of Charleston, Clemson has won 209 games, including 98 over the last four seasons – a school record for a four-year period.
“It was a tremendous honor and privilege to have been a part of Clemson basketball for 14 seasons helping elevate the program through the unwavering belief in Coach Brownell and the ‘TEAM’ culture he has established,” said Bender.
“I will be forever grateful to Coach Brownell for giving me two different opportunities to serve him and the program here at Clemson. Working for him, you benefit from an expected shared ownership in the success of the program as well as his elite leadership skills in demanding true ‘TEAM’ and all that goes with that. Integrity, work ethic, sacrifice and grit all necessary for team success and success in life.Throughout my 40 years of coaching, my experience at Clemson has been the hardest and most rewarding. I am extremely happy to be stepping away having helped be a part of arguably the best era in Clemson Basketball history.”
“I would also like to thank all the players and their willingness to be coached, all my co-workers spanning 14 seasons, former President Jim Clements, Graham Neff, past administrators, Aaron Dunham and all in the committed booster group as well as the entire Clemson University community for their support and help throughout my time here.”
“Most importantly, I thank my lovely wife Beth for her support of me chasing my passion while raising our children throughout the journey. I look forward to spending quality time with her, our sons Dalton and Dillon and their families.”
Since switching to the Clemson post player position group, the Tigers have seen much success with Coach Bender. PJ Hall has been a two-time All-ACC player for Clemson, including finishing seventh in program history in scoring. Ian Schieffelin enjoyed a career year in 2024-25 after averaging 10.1 points and 9.4 rebounds en route to the ACC’s Most Improved Player award in 2023-24. Schieffelin upped his scoring to 12.9 points per game as a senior and was named All-ACC Second Team.
Viktor Lakhin, although only with the team for one season, enjoyed a career year shooting the basketball. Lakhin shot a career-high 37.5 percent from three and scored a career-best 388 points. He also totaled career bests in blocks (50) and steals (52) in 2024-25.
RJ Godfrey returned to Clemson for his senior season in 2025-26 and enjoyed career highs in multiple categories, while earning Honorable Mention All-ACC and NABC All-District Second Team honors.
Bender had a positive effect on Clemson’s lead guards in his first five seasons back on staff. Marcquise Reed emerged as a top scoring threat for the Tigers in 2017-18 – leading the team with 15.8 points per contest, while adding 116 assists (second on the squad). Reed upped that averaged to nearly 20.0 points per game in 2018-19, while becoming a 1,000-point scorer in a Tiger uniform.
Reed made second-team All-ACC in 2017-18 and third-team All-ACC in 2018-19. Shelton Mitchell made second-team All-ACC Tournament. He was the Tigers’ second-leading scorer and posted over 100 assists in his first season at Clemson, while upping his points-per-game to a career-high 12.2 and finished with a team-best and career-high 119 assists in 2017-18. Combined with All-NCAA Regional selection Gabe DeVoe, the Tigers won 25 games in 2017-18.
Bender wraps up a 40-year career in basketball, dating back to first collegiate coaching position under Head Coach Royce Waltman in 1987 at DePauw University coaching Coach Brownell.
Bender had stops at DePauw, Radford, Indiana State and Clemson throughout his coaching career.ender:
USF release on Mack:
University of South Florida CEO of Athletics Rob Higgins has named 2016 national coach of the year Chris Mack as the 13th head coach of the Bulls men’s basketball program.
Mack, who led Xavier and Louisville to the NCAA Tournament, comes to South Florida after posting a pair of 20-win seasons at the College of Charleston. He brings a 323-153 (.679) career record to Tampa across 15 seasons as a head coach with stops at Xavier (2009-18), Louisville (2018-22), and College of Charleston (2024-26).
Mack has posted 12 20-win seasons and led teams to nine NCAA Tournament appearances (posting an 11-9 record), including four Sweet 16 and one Elite Eight appearance with Xavier. He posted 259 victories in his first 11 seasons as a head coach, marking the 12th most amassed by a coach in that time frame. As a player, assistant coach, and head coach, Mack has been a part of 19 NCAA Tournament appearances. Teams Mack has led have achieved both a No. 1 Associated Press Poll ranking (Louisville) and a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament (Xavier).
“Bulls basketball has incredible momentum, and we’ve found an outstanding coach and leader to elevate our program to the next level,” Higgins said. “Chris Mack has reached 20 or more wins in 12 of his 15 seasons as a head coach and guided teams to nine NCAA Tournaments, including several Sweet 16s and an Elite Eight. He brings elite experience in roster building through the portal and transforming programs in a short time frame. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome Chris and his family to Bulls Nation. With Chris and Kristy (Curry) leading our men’s and women’s programs, Tampa Bay’s Home for Hoops will be rocking and poised for an incredibly bright future.”
Mack, one of just 19 coaches in college basketball history to lead their team to a No. 1 ranking within the first two years at their school, was named the 2016 Henry Iba Award winner as the national coach of the year selected by the United States Basketball Writers Association. He has twice been named a conference coach of the year, earning 2018 Big East Coach the Year and 2011 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year honors, and has led teams to three conference regular-season championships. Mack was also named the winner of the 2011 Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award, given annually to an NCAA Division I men’s basketball head coach who not only achieves success on the basketball court, but displays moral integrity off the court as well.
“I am truly excited for the opportunity to lead a South Florida basketball program that’s on an exceptional trajectory and to join a university and athletic department defined by strong leadership, shared aspirations, and tremendous alignment,” Mack said. “The exceptional vision and commitment Rob outlined are inspiring, and I am grateful for his trust and belief in my leadership of Bulls basketball. I’m eager to connect with Bulls Nation, the students in the SoFlo Rodeo, and the passionate fans who make the Yuengling Center such a special home court.”
Mack comes to South Florida after two seasons leading the College of Charleston program. In his first season, he guided the Cougars to a 24-9 record and a 13-5 mark in the Coastal Athletic Association. He followed that with a 21-11 mark (14-4 CAA) and a second-place conference finish in 2025-26.
Mack guided Louisville to a 24-7 record and a 15-5 ACC mark in 2019-2020. It was the best overall record through 31 games for a Louisville team in six years and marked the most conference victories for the Cardinals in their first six years in the ACC. The Cards achieved a Top 15 ranking throughout the season, including two weeks as the nation’s No. 1-ranked team in the AP and USA Today polls. No postseason was held that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his first season at Louisville (2018-19), Mack guided the Cardinals to a 20-14 record while facing the nation’s fourth-toughest schedule and earned a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Picked to finish 11th in the ACC, Louisville achieved a 10-8 conference record and earned a tie for sixth in the final regular season standings. The Cardinals beat four Associated Press Top 25-ranked teams and reached No. 22 in the nation in the NCAA’s NET rankings. Louisville ranked among the nation’s top 30 teams in both offensive (27th) and defensive efficiency (24th).
Mack spent nine seasons as the head coach at Xavier, guiding the Musketeers to a 215-97 record and eight NCAA Tournament appearances, including reaching the Sweet 16 on four occasions (2010, 2012, 2015, 2017) and the Elite Eight in 2017. His teams won or shared three conference regular season championships while compiling a 105-49 (68.1%) league record over five seasons in the Big East and four in the Atlantic 10.
His 2017-18 squad achieved a 29-6 record, won Xavier’s first-ever Big East Conference regular season championship, and earned the school’s first-ever No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Mack was honored as the 2018 Big East Coach of the Year and NABC District 5 Coach of the Year as he became the all-time coaching wins leader in Xavier men’s basketball history.
His 2016-17 Xavier team made an NCAA Tournament run to the Elite Eight after earning a No. 11 seed. The Musketeers defeated No. 6 seed Maryland, No. 3 Florida State and No. 2 Arizona before falling to No. 1 seed Gonzaga in the Elite Eight.
Mack was named the 2010-11 Atlantic 10 Conference Coach of the Year in his second year as a head coach, as he led the Musketeers to a 15-1 conference record and top-20 national ranking. He also earned the Skip Prosser Man of the Year award that season.
He was named the 2009-10 Basketball Times Rookie Coach of the Year as he guided Xavier to a 26-9 record, a share of the Atlantic 10 regular-season championship and advancement to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16.
Before becoming a head coach, Mack was a part of successful staffs throughout his career. He spent five seasons as an assistant on Sean Miller’s Xavier staff (2004-09) after serving on the staffs of the late Skip Prosser at Xavier, as director of basketball operations (1999-01), and at Wake Forest (2001-04), as an assistant coach.
In 10 seasons as an assistant or operations director, he helped his teams produce a 229-96 record (.705), win four regular-season conference titles and one conference tournament championship, secure eight NCAA Tournament appearances and make three Sweet 16 appearances and one Elite Eight.
A 1992 Xavier graduate with a degree in Communication Arts, Mack was a two-time team captain as a player at Xavier under then-head coach Pete Gillen. His Xavier teams won an MCC regular season title and made an NCAA Tournament appearance in 1993. He also played two seasons at Evansville, helping the Purple Aces to a 1989 conference title and the NCAA Tournament.
Mack and his wife, Christi, have three children: Lainee, Hailee and Brayden.