Chris Foster Named Men's Basketball Coach at McKendree University
(LEBANON, Ill., March 30)—McKendree University director of athletics Chuck Brueggemann
announced on Friday that Chris Foster has accepted an offer to become the new men’s
basketball coach for the Bearcats. Foster replaces Harry Statham, the all-time wins
leader in college basketball history with 1,122 victories. He becomes the 25th head
coach in McKendree men’s basketball history.
“Chris is a dynamic coach and motivator who has quickly made his mark as a collegiate
head coach,” said Brueggemann. “He is a player’s coach who gets the most out of his
student-athletes both on the court and in the classroom. Chris is a man of high character
and it reflects in the type of student-athletes who have played in his program. He
was a successful student-athlete at the (NCAA) Division I level, which has enabled
Chris to develop a coaching style that falls back on that experience. He knows the
GLVC well and is a proven winner in our league. We look forward to Chris leading our
McKendree men’s basketball program to new heights in the GLVC and beyond.”
Foster is familiar with McKendree after spending the last four years as the head coach
of Great Lakes Valley Conference foe Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo. In
those four seasons, Foster guided the Bulldogs to a 20-win season each time, earning
83 victories during that span. Of those 83 wins, 48 came against GLVC opponents.
In each of his four seasons in Kirksville, Foster led Truman State to the GLVC Tournament.
His 2017-18 squad earned a share of the GLVC West Division title with a 13-5 mark.
The Bulldogs grabbed the No. 2 seed at the 2018 GLVC Tournament held in Edwardsville,
Ill., and reached the championship contest for the first time since becoming league
members in 2013. Foster also coached three first-team All-GLVC players in 2017-18,
marking just the second time in conference history that one institution had three
first-team All-Conference honorees in men’s basketball.
All four of Foster’s teams at Truman State featured a high-octane offensive style
that averaged 82 points per game or higher each time. The 2017-18 Bulldogs’ squad
was second in the GLVC in scoring offense at 83.8 points per game, a year removed
from a team that set a program record by averaging nearly 87 points per contest. The
2016-17 squad also finished first among all NCAA Division II programs in three-point
field goal percentage, knocking down 42.9 percent of their attempts from beyond the
arc.
Foster also led Truman State to NCAA Tournament appearances in each of the last two
years. It was the first time in 60 years of NCAA membership that the Bulldogs made
consecutive trips to the national tournament.
“I’m honored and excited to be the new men’s basketball coach, and I thank Chuck Brueggemann
(McKendree President) Dr. James Dennis for this opportunity,” said Foster. “McKendree
has a great basketball tradition and I look forward to coming in and adding to that
tradition. I cannot wait to get to know our team members, work with them and build
on all the great things that McKendree basketball has to offer.”
Before being named the head coach at Truman State, Foster spent one season as the
Bulldogs’ associate head coach and recruiting coordinator. In that role he also served
as academic coordinator as well as planned and implemented pre- and post-season workouts.
A 2005 graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, Foster gained valuable coaching
experience at his alma mater. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant
basketball coach at UNI for one season before transitioning into the role of director
of basketball operations in 2006-07. In October 2007, Foster was named as an assistant
basketball coach for the Panthers. After spending one year as an assistant at UNI,
Foster moved into the high school coaching ranks before returning as video coordinator
for the Panthers in December 2011. He remained in that role until moving to Truman
State.
In taking the reins of the McKendree men’s basketball program, Foster shared his vision
for the Bearcats’ future. “I think the sky’s the limit. For me, it’s about taking
that next step. We will work hard with our players to get better each and every day,
to improve next year and build on that foundation. We also want to bring in student-athletes
who share that work ethic and want to get to that next level. There are a lot of great
things about this basketball program (at McKendree). Our expectation is to compete
among the top tier of the GLVC every year.”
Foster was a four-year member of the Northern Iowa men’s basketball team, where he
is a member of the Panthers’ 1,000-point club. He was named to the All-Freshman Team
in the Missouri Valley Conference in 2001-02, and also played for the UNI teams that
made back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Tournament in 2004 and 2005. Foster ranks
seventh on the Panthers’ career list for assists with 370.
Foster and his wife Kylie have three children, a son, Jase and two daughters, Avery
and Riley.
The McKendree University men’s basketball team finished the 2017-18 season with an
overall record of 12-16. The Bearcats were 3-15 in GLVC play.
-McK-
