University Hires Head Coach for Men’s Basketball Program

SAN ANTONIO —Texas A&M University-San Antonio has hired Chris Dial to launch its men’s basketball program. Dial comes by way of Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU), where he has been for five seasons.

“I am honored and feel extremely fortunate to be joining the Texas A&M-San Antonio family,” said Dial. “Being afforded the opportunity to build a program with such exceptional people this close to where I grew up is truly humbling. As I continue to dedicate myself to this city and a game that has meant so much to me and so many others, I will embrace, wholeheartedly, this journey and give the A&M brand and all of those it represents all that I have. The Southside of San Antonio is near and dear to me and my family and it genuinely will be a pleasure to represent it regionally, nationally and globally.”

A&M-San Antonio announced in November that it was expanding its sports program with the addition of men’s and women’s basketball as intercollegiate athletic team offerings for the 2024-2025 academic year. Chris Minner, previously with Texas A&M University-Texarkana, will serve as head coach of the women’s basketball program. The addition of the basketball program is a big step forward for the University, which also carries men’s and women’s soccer, men’s golf and softball. A&M-San Antonio competes within the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics as a member of the Red River Athletic Conference.

Prior to OLLU, Dial coached at several San Antonio-area high schools (St. Gerard Catholic High School, McCollum High School, John Paul II Catholic High School and New Braunfels High School) as well as internationally.

While living in Europe, Dial worked for both the Kosovo Basketball Federation as well as for FIBA Europe as a manager and head coach of a development program that focused on program-building and success strategies. Dial helped architect a Youth National Team Program that put Kosovo on the global basketball map and has coached and consulted for several other National Basketball Federations throughout Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

A&M-San Antonio Director of Intercollegiate Athletics, Darnell Smith, is looking forward to having Dial on staff. “Chris Dial is someone who brings a unique skill set to A&M-San Antonio,” Smith said. “Through his various coaching positions and nonprofit work, Chris has been highly successful at tying basketball to communities. We talk about building champions in life here at A&M-San Antonio and Chris has been utilizing basketball to do just that his entire career. What is more, Chris has spent some time away from San Antonio, but San Antonio has never left Chris. When you bring up the name Chris Dial in the San Antonio basketball community, it carries weight.”

Dial grew up on the south side of San Antonio where he attended and played basketball at East Central High School. He went on to play basketball for Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and psychology. He then went on to receive a master’s degree in international studies from Texas State University in San Marcos.

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About Texas A&M University-San Antonio

Established as a stand-alone university in 2009, Texas A&M University-San Antonio is a comprehensive four-year public university that reflects the culturally diverse, heritage-rich community it serves. Situated on nearly 700 acres in South San Antonio, the University offers 39 undergraduate degrees and 23 graduate degrees to about 7,620 students. A&M-San Antonio is home to the Henry G. Cisneros Institute for Emerging Leaders and the Cyber Engineering Technology/Cyber Security Research Center. The University holds the Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) designation and is one of 39 higher education institutions in the U.S. to have received the Seal of Excelencia certification from Excelencia in Education for its support of Latino student success. More than 77 percent of A&M-SA students identify as Hispanic, and approximately 72 percent are the first in their families to attend college. A&M-San Antonio is a military-embracing institution; the University was recently awarded the 2023 Gold Veteran Education Excellence Recognition Award (VEERA) from the Texas Veterans Commission. Visit tamusa.edu for more information. #onamission