Cliff Ellis — who had been the oldest coach in college basketball — announced his retirement Wednesday, eight games into his Coastal Carolina men's team's 2023-24 season.
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Ellis' retirement was first reported by The Messenger, and comes just one day after Ellis turned 78 years old. Ellis had become the oldest coach in college basketball once Jim Boeheim — another legendary coach — retired from his head coaching job at Syracuse at the end of last season, also at age 78.
Coastal Carolina head coach Cliff Ellis is retiring, source told @themessenger.
Ellis is the oldest head coach in the country at 78.
Assistant Benny Moss will take over on interim basis.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) December 6, 2023
While there hasn't been any official word on why Ellis retired, it's always surprising to see a coach step away during the season. Yet, considering what Ellis has already achieved to this point, the iconic coach had nothing more to prove.
Not only was Ellis the oldest coach in college basketball, but the 833 Division I wins he has accrued across his five-decade career was also the most by any active coach and ranks him at No. 10 on the NCAA's all-time Division I wins list. When factoring in the 78 wins that Ellis earned during his time spent at NAIA Cumberland University in the early 1970s, Ellis has 909 career wins — placing him at No. 12 all-time for college basketball victories, regardless of division.
Ellis began his coaching career in 1975 at South Alabama. After nine seasons there, he went to Clemson — then left Clemson after 10 seasons to record another 10 at Auburn. From there, Ellis spent time as a TV analyst on college basketball broadcasts before returning to the sidelines at Coastal Carolina in 2007, where he had remained ever since. His Coastal Carolina squad made its last NCAA Tournament appearance in 2015 after winning the Big South conference.
In addition to his historic coaching career and time spent as a TV analyst, Ellis is also known for his vocal cords. Prior to his coaching career, Ellis was the lead singer in a band called The Villagers, which "rocked the parties and dance halls of northwest Florida in the mid-60's." Coastal Carolina's players have been known to play Ellis' old tunes during bus rides to and from away games — if they won, that is.
With Ellis stepping away from Coastal Carolina, assistant coach Benny Moss will take the team over on interim basis. Once Ellis' retirement becomes official — which was expected to occur during a Coastal Carolina news conference Wednesday afternoon — the NCAA's new active-career wins leader will be Kentucky legend John Calipari, who currently has 795 Division 1 victories.
While college basketball will surely miss Ellis, at least we'll still have his rock tunes to listen to.
