Women's Basketball
- Title:
- Head Coach
- Phone:
- 325-0198
Follow Coach Schaefer On Twitter
2019 ESPNW National Coach of the Year
2019 SEC Coach of the Year (Associated Press & SEC Coaches)
2018 Naismith National Coach of the Year
2018 WBCA National Coach of the Year
2018 USBWA National Coach of the Year
2018 College Sports Madness National Coach of the Year
2018 SEC Coach of the Year (Associated Press & SEC Coaches)
2017 WBCA Region Coach of the Year
2017 Naismith National Coach of the Year Finalist
2017 ESPY For Best Upset
2015 SEC Coach of the Year (Associated Press & SEC Coaches)
2015 Naismith National Coach of the Year Semifinalist
2019-20 will be Schaefer’s eighth season at Mississippi State
Vic Schaefer has played an integral part of building championship programs during his coaching career, and he knew it could be done at Mississippi State when he was named the Bulldogs’ head coach on March 13, 2012.
That plan evolved quickly for the Bulldogs’ coach. Through seven seasons in Starkville, he has taken MSU to heights never seen by the program. During that time, Mississippi State has set numerous school records on the court, in the stands and in the classroom. Under his leadership, State won the program’s first SEC regular-season championship and SEC Tournament championship and has advanced to the postseason six straight years, including the NCAA Tournament each of the last five seasons and back-to-back National Championship appearances in 2016-17 and 2017-18.
Schaefer has led Mississippi State to 194 victories, second-most in program history, and a school-best .776 winning percentage in his first seven seasons after the Bulldogs were 87-71 in the five years prior to his arrival. His last six Bulldog teams have won 20 games, including consecutive 30-win seasons each of the last three years. Under his leadership, MSU posted a school record for victories each season from 2014-2018, capped by a nation’s-best 37-2 mark during the 2017-18 run to the national championship game.
He has also enjoyed success in the hardcourt version of the Egg Bowl, putting together a 12-2 record against Ole Miss, including 11 straight victories.
Bulldogs Competing at Unprecedented Level Under Schaefer
The 2018-19 season was another year of firsts for Mississippi State. After advancing to the SEC Tournament championship game during each of the previous two campaigns, the Bulldogs finally cut down the nets for the first time in program history in 2019, following a dominant 101-70 victory over Arkansas.
The squad was paced by SEC Player of the Year and unanimous First-Team All-American Teaira McCowan, who averaged 18.4 points and 13.5 rebounds per game. With a 33-3 record, Mississippi State cruised to its second-consecutive SEC regular season title, posting an average scoring margin of an NCAA-leading 28.0 points per game.
Schaefer was named the ESPNW National Coach of the Year for the Bulldog’s impressive season. State remained inside the Associated Press top 10 for the entire season and finished with seven victories against ranked opponents. MSU claimed a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row and advanced to the Elite Eight for a third straight year.
The season also marked the end of an unprecedented era for State, as McCowan, Jazzmun Holmes and Zion Campbell finished as the winningest class in program history with an incredible 132-18 career record. The trio helped guide Mississippi State to back-to-back national championships, a pair of SEC Titles, an SEC Tournament Championship and numerous other program firsts.
The 2017-18 season saw Mississippi State set numerous records during a historic campaign that ended with a second-straight National Finalist finish and the program’s first SEC regular-season championship. In addition to setting the program record with its 37 wins and a .949 winning percentage, State also opened the year with 32 consecutive victories, the most in MSU annals and the second-longest win streak in SEC history. The run to the national title game was highlighted with 11 wins against Top-25 teams, including five against Top-5 opponents.
The Bulldogs won the first SEC regular-season title by a Mississippi State women’s team with a perfect 16-0 record. That run in the league slate capped a 30-0 regular season, making Mississippi State the first SEC team since 1998 to finish the regular season without a loss.
The perfect regular season led MSU to the SEC Tournament title game for the third-straight year, and it saw the Bulldogs earn the first No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament in school history and the opportunity to host the opening two rounds for the third consecutive year.
The historic 2017-18 campaign, in which MSU finished the season No. 2 in the USA Today Top 25 Poll for the second time in as many seasons, saw Schaefer earn Naismith National Coach of the Year honors, as well as national accolades from the WBCA, USBWA and College Sports Madness. He was also tabbed the SEC Coach of the Year for the second time in four seasons, earning the honor from his fellow league coaches and the Associated Press.
The return trip to the Final Four and the national title game capped a tremendous career for the senior class of Roshunda Johnson, Blair Schaefer, Victoria Vivians and Morgan William. They finished with an incredible 126-22 career record. The quartet became the first MSU players to advance to the NCAA Tournament four-straight years.
The 2017-18 championship squad followed a 2016-17 team that will forever hold a special place in college basketball history for its thrilling 66-64 overtime win against No. 1 UConn. That victory snapped the Huskies’ record 111-game win streak and sent the Bulldogs to the national championship game in their first Final Four appearance. The UConn win garnered MSU the 2017 ESPY for Best Upset and Morgan William a Best Play nomination for her winning bucket, and it capped a record-setting season that saw Mississippi State set the program wins standard for the third-straight year with a 34-5 mark.
After advancing to the SEC Tournament championship game for the second year in a row, the Bulldogs earned the right to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the second time in as many seasons as a then-program best No. 2 seed. After advancing to the team’s first Elite Eight with a victory against No. 11 Washington, State became the first women’s program in the state of Mississippi to advance to the Final Four when it defeated No. 5 Baylor 94-85 in overtime behind 41 points from William, the OKC Regional Most Outstanding Player.
That 2016-17 team was built to make a Final Four run despite not having a McDonald’s All-American on the roster, claiming a school-best 12 road wins and starting the year with a 20-game win streak that included the program’s first-ever win at Tennessee and an overtime victory at Iowa State that halted the Cyclones’ 96-game win streak in regular-season, non-conference games at Hilton Coliseum.
The historic season, in which State finished No. 2 in the nation in the final USA Today Coaches Poll, saw Schaefer named a WBCA Region Coach of the Year and a finalist for the prestigious Naismith Coach of the Year.
State’s first run to the Final Four came a year after MSU made a run to its first Sweet 16 since 2010. Schaefer guided the 2015-16 Bulldogs to 28 wins and a tie for second place in the SEC with 11 league victories. That campaign saw the Bulldogs claim their first two wins against Tennessee, including one in the SEC Tournament semifinals that punched MSU’s ticket to its first championship game appearance since 2000.
The 2015-16 squad hosted the NCAA Tournament first and second rounds for the first time, defeating Chattanooga and Michigan State to land a spot in the Sweet 16.
In 2014-15, Schaefer was named SEC Coach of the Year by the Associated Press, co-Coach of the Year accolades by his league peers and a Naismith National Coach of the Year semifinalist after guiding his third MSU team to 27 wins, 11 SEC victories, a third-place league finish and the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2010. The successful campaign put State into the national polls for the first time since 2010, where it has stayed since.
The Bulldogs opened the year winning 18-straight games. That run started with a thrilling run to the Preseason WNIT title just eight months after a 22-win campaign by Schaefer’s second MSU contingent ended in heartbreaking fashion in the WNIT quarterfinals.
Although that 2013-14 season had a tough end, it was a significant step forward in the blueprint that started in a 2012-13 campaign that saw State top the SEC in three-point defense and blocked shots and cap the year with a thrilling 50-38 upset of No. 11 Georgia.
Rewriting the Record Books
Since Schaefer’s arrival in Starkville, Mississippi State has completely rewritten its record books after multiple historic seasons have allowed the Bulldogs rise to prominence in women’s basketball.
Schaefer’s 2018-19 squad set records in field goals (1,165), field-goal percentage (.493) and points per game (86.2). While ranking second in the country in scoring offense, the squad led the nation in scoring margin at 28.0 points per game after posting a program-record eight games with 100 points.
State finished 2017-18 in the Top 25 in NCAA Division I in 13 team statistical categories and set over 30 team and individual single-season records. In addition to all of the wins records, Schaefer’s sixth Bulldog edition recorded the most points in school history with 3,164, a total that rates fourth in SEC history. The squad set the scoring record behind a then-program-best 1,158 field goals. Of those field goals, a school record 278, the second-most in SEC history, came from the 3-point arc at a program-best 38.9-percent clip.
The Bulldogs also continued to post record numbers at the free-throw line in 2017-18, notching the school free-throw percentage record with a 74.6 percent clip. State has been one of the nation’s best at getting to the charity stripe under Schaefer, with his last six teams being the only Bulldog squads to make 500 or more free throws in a season. His second contingent (2013-14) sank the third-most free throws in SEC history (705).
Under Schaefer, the Bulldogs have also recorded record numbers on the glass as well, notching the program’s season rebounding standard each of the last four years. The 2018-19 team pulled down 1,536 rebounds to top the previous year’s mark of 1,483. Teaira McCowan shattered the program record in rebounds for a career with 1,502, which ranks 14th all time in NCAA Division I history and second in the SEC. She also boasts the second-highest mark in a single season in NCAA Division I after grabbing 544 boards as a junior in 2017-18.
The 2017-18 Dawgs also became the first MSU team to dish 600 assists in a season at 602 assists. While it dropped dimes at a record rate, the Bulldogs also took care of the basketball in 2017-18, committing a school-low 421 turnovers. Jazzmun Holmes led the NCAA with a 4.81 assist/turnover ratio as a senior in 2018-19, marking the highest ratio since the NCAA begin tracking the stat in 2007-08.
Bulldogs Becoming Regulars During Award Season
In Schaefer’s seven seasons in Starkville, the two-time National Coach of the Year has produced two All-Americans, one SEC Player of the Year and nine All-SEC performers along with numerous other accolades as well. Under his leadership, the duo of McCowan and Vivians finished their careers as two of the most decorated Bulldogs ever to dawn the Maroon and White.
McCowan marked State’s first player to be named a first team All-American performer in back-to-back years since LaToya Thomas in 2002-03. McCowan, who was the 2019 SEC Player of the Year (AP & Coaches), earned first team honors from ESPNW and was selected as a WBCA All-American in 2018 and 2019.
As a senior, McCowan also earned All-American recognition from Wooden Award, Associated Press (1st), United States Basketball Writers Association (1st) and Senior CLASS Award (1st). In 2018, she earned third team honors from the AP.
A two-time All-SEC First Team selection, McCowan was one of the most dominant players in college basketball on the defensive end of the floor, being tabbed the National Defensive Player of the Year by Naismith (2018) and WBCA (2019) along with earning SEC DPOY honors as a junior and senior. Her other accolades include winning the Gillom Trophy (2019), which is given to Mississippi’s top women’s college player, and SEC Sixth Woman of the Year (2017).
In 2018, Vivians became the first player to be named an AP Associated Press All-American since 2003. That same year, she won the Ann Meyers Drysdale Award as the nation’s top shooting guard following a senior campaign that saw her average a career-best 19.8 ppg on 49-percent shooting from the field.
Vivians, a three-time First Team All-SEC selection, was also named a WBCA All-American, Senior CLASS Award First Team All-American, USBWA Second Team All-American, AP Third Team All-America and ESPNW Third Team All-American during her time in Starkville. The Carthage, Miss., native also made history in the state by becoming the first four-time recipient of the Gillom Trophy along with being the first freshman to hoist the trophy.
Howard (2019), William (2017-18) and Alwal (2013-15) also earned spots on the All-SEC Teams under Schaefer’s coaching. State has had nine selections for the SEC All-Defensive Team since Schaefer took over. Blair Schaefer was named the 2017 SEC Co Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Alwal was the SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Year in 2014 and was the 2013 Gillom Trophy winner.
Schaefer’s teams also set new standards in the classroom. The 2017-18 squad bettered a record 3.40 fall grade-point average with a 3.44 GPA in the spring. The Bulldogs have placed a total 57 student-athletes on the SEC Academic Honor Roll since 2013.
Establishing a Top-Ranked Program
The Bulldogs have been mainstays in the national polls under Schaefer’s guidance. On November 24, 2014, Mississippi State returned to the Associated Press poll for the first time since 2009. Since then, State has spent 94 consecutive weeks ranked in the AP poll. That stretch marks the sixth-longest active stretch in the nation.
During the last three seasons, the Bulldogs have remained inside the Top 10 for the entire year, totaling 58 weeks in a row, which stands as the country’s fourth-longest streak. Overall, State has spent 68 weeks ranked inside the Top 10 under Schaefer and 33 weeks in the Top 5.
In 2017-18, the Bulldogs earned their highest ranking in program history, climbing to No. 2 for six straight weeks. It was part of a 14-week period where MSU remained inside the Top 5 of the polls.
Prior to Schaefer, Mississippi State had only spent a combined 48 weeks in the AP Top 25 since the poll began in 1976-77, including just one week in the Top 10 during the 2002-03 season.
Signing the State’s and Nation’s Best
The Bulldogs’ quick ascension to the top of the national landscape can be attributed to Schaefer and his coaching staff’s efforts on the recruiting trail.
Mississippi State has signed back-to-back top-15 classes the last two years, including the top signing class in program history with the No. 6 group in the nation for 2019 according to ESPN. Rickea Jackson, the fifth-ranked player in the country, highlighted the group. The two-time Gatorade Michigan Player of the Year was the highest-ranked player to ever sign with the Bulldogs and marked State’s first McDonald’s All-American signee. In 2018, MSU inked a pair of five stars to claim the country’s 11th-ranked class.
An area of emphasis for Schaefer in recruiting has been signing the top players in Mississippi. It began with Vivians, who was a five star in the 2014 class and Parade All-American selection, and continued in 2017 when he inked three-time Mississippi Gatorade Player of the Year Myah Taylor from Olive Branch.
In 2015, Schaefer signed his second Parade All-American in McCowan as part of a class that included Gulfport, Mississippi, native Jazzmun Holmes. Those two, along with Zion Campbell, were a part of the winningest class in program history, finishing with 132 career victories.
Holding Down the Hump
The Bulldogs’ success on the court quickly translated to the stands, as State fans have turned Humphrey Coliseum into one of best environments in college basketball around the country. Mississippi State has set its average attendance record in each of the last six seasons under Schaefer, and the top 20 largest crowds in program history have occurred during his time at the helm. MSU has ranked inside the top 15 nationally in total attendance four times since Schaefer took over.
In 2018-19, Mississippi State set program records for total attendance (143,578) and average attendance (8,446), which ranked fourth and fifth in the country, respectively.
The 2017-18 season saw 133,906 fans come to the Hump, marking the first time the Bulldogs eclipsed 100,000 at the turnstiles. That year, State recorded the largest men’s or women’s basketball crowd ever in the state of Mississippi as 10,794 fans sold out Humphrey Coliseum for MSU’s 67-53 win against South Carolina.
During Schaefer’s time in Starkville, Mississippi State has posted a 106-15 record when playing at home. Since 2014-15, the Bulldogs are an impressive 78-5 inside Humphrey Coliseum for a winning percentage of .940.
International Coaching Experience
Schaefer has been fortunate enough to earn multiple international coaching opportunities throughout his career.
During the summer of 2019, he was tabbed an assistant coach for the USA Basketball women’s team at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, helping the team win the silver medal. That same summer, his Mississippi State squad represented USA Team at the World University Games in Naples, Italy, earning a silver medal at that event as well. In 2007, he became the first associate head coach to be named head coach of the United States William Jones Cup Team, guiding the team to a bronze medal in Taipei, Taiwan.
Prior to Mississippi State
Schaefer spent nine years as associate head coach to friend and mentor Gary Blair at Texas A&M. Nicknamed the “Secretary of Defense,” Schaefer’s teams consistently placed atop the Big 12 rankings in turnovers forced, steals and turnover margin. In 2011, the Aggies won the NCAA national championship in the program’s first trip to the Final Four.
Schaefer was also part of Texas A&M squads that won two Big 12 Tournament titles (2010 & 2008) and the conference regular-season title in 2007.
Schaefer accompanied Blair to Texas A&M following a six-year stint as associate head coach at Arkansas from 1997-2003. During that run he helped the Razorbacks to four NCAA Tournament appearances, including a Final Four berth in his inaugural season.
Schaefer went to Arkansas after serving as head women’s coach at Sam Houston State from 1990-97. In his penultimate season, he was tabbed the Southland Conference Coach of the Year after leading the Bearkats to their most wins in a decade (18). During his first year with the program, he coached Sierena Autman to Southland Conference Player of the Year accolades.
A native of Austin, Texas, Schaefer served as a men’s assistant coach at Sam Houston State (1987-89) between stints as the assistant boys’ basketball coach and head tennis coach at Houston’s Milby High School. As a player, Schaefer was an all-state performer at Houston Lutheran High School before going on to play two seasons at Alvin Community College.
Schaefer and his wife, Holly—who played basketball at Arkansas State and later served as an assistant coach at UT Arlington—have twin children: Blair and Logan. Both graduated from Mississippi State during the 2017-18 year.
PERSONAL
Hometown: Houston, Texas
Alma Mater: Texas A&M (1984)
Wife: Holly Schaefer
Children: 23-year-old twins Blair and Logan
COACHING EXPERIENCE
2012-: Mississippi State University (7 seasons - Head Coach)
2003-11: Texas A&M University (9 seasons - Associate Head Coach)
2000-03: University of Arkansas (3 seasons - Associate Head Coach)
1997-00: University of Arkansas (3 seasons - Assistant Coach)
1990-97: Sam Houston State University (7 seasons - Head Coach)
1989-90: Milby High School – Houston, Texas (1 season - Assistant Boys’ Basketball & Head Tennis Coach)
1987-89: Sam Houston State University (2 seasons - Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach)
1985-87: Milby High School – Houston, Texas (2 seasons - Assistant Boys Basketball & Head Tennis Coach)
COACHING HONORS
Mississippi State
2019 ESPNW National Coach of the Year
2019 SEC Coach of the Year (Associated Press & SEC Coaches)
2018 Naismith National Coach of the Year
2018 WBCA National Coach of the Year
2018 USBWA National Coach of the Year
2018 College Sports Madness National Coach of the Year
2018 SEC Coach of the Year (Associated Press & SEC Coaches)
2017 WBCA Region Coach of the Year
2017 Naismith National Coach of the Year Finalist
2017 ESPY (Best Upset)
2015 Associated Press SEC Coach of the Year & SEC Coaches’ Co-Coach of the Year
2015 Naismith National Coach of the Year Semifinalist
Texas A&M
2009 BasketballScoop.com Assistant Coach of the Year
POSTSEASON EXPERIENCE
Mississippi State
2018 NCAA Tournament – Final Four (National Finalist)
2017 NCAA Tournament – Final Four (National Finalist)
2016 NCAA Tournament - Sweet 16
2015 NCAA Tournament - Second Round
2014 WNIT Quarterfinals
Texas A&M
7 NCAA Tournament Appearances
1 NCAA National Championship (2010-11)
1 NCAA Elite Eight (2007-08)
2 NCAA Sweet 16 (2008-09, 2011-12)
2 NCAA Second Round (2006-07, 2009-10)
1 NCAA First Round (2005-06)
1 WNIT Appearance
1 WNIT Quarterfinals (2004-05)
Arkansas
4 NCAA Tournament Appearances
1 NCAA Final Four (1997-98)
3 NCAA Second Round (2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03)
2 WNIT Appearances
1 WNIT National Championship (1998-99)
1 WNIT Semifinal (1999-00)
