University of Tennessee Athletics
Barnes Named a Naismith Hall of Fame First-Time Nominee
December 21, 2023 | Men's Basketball
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – University of Tennessee head men's basketball coach Rick Barnes is a first-time nominee for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, as announced Thursday on ESPN.
Barnes is among just 15 first-time North American nominees, joining a select group that includes names such as Vince Carter, Mike Gminski, Bill Laimbeer and the 2008 U.S. Olympic Redeem Team.
"I feel incredibly blessed to be nominated for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the pinnacle of our sport," Barnes said. "This distinction, though, is not just about me, but more about all the wonderful people who have impacted me throughout my coaching journey the last four-plus decades. I want to thank every coach, staff member, administrator, fan and friend who has supported me and the programs I've had the joy of working for. But most of all, I want to thank the players I've had the privilege of coaching, as well as my family for their unconditional love and for keeping me focused on the Lord and living for the glory of His kingdom."
Now in his 46th consecutive year as a college basketball coach, including his 37th in a row at the helm of a program, Barnes is one of the most successful coaches in the history of the sport. His 787 victories place him No. 15 all-time among Division I head coaches (min. five years in DI), including second among such active coaches.
Barnes owns 27 NCAA Tournament appearances, tied with Lute Olson and Dean Smith for fifth-most all-time and two more than any other active DI head coach. The only individuals with more than him are Mike Krzyzewski (36), Jim Boeheim (35), Roy Williams (30) and Bob Knight (28). His 17 consecutive NCAA bids from 1996-2012 rank as the seventh-long streak ever at the DI level.
A native of Hickory, N.C., Barnes is one of just 15 coaches—only five are active—ever to take four-plus schools to the DI NCAA Tournament and one of 12 coaches, including those who manned the sidelines prior to tournament expansion, to lead three programs to the Sweet 16.
Barnes is among only 24 coaches to win 100-plus games at three DI schools. He joins John Calipari, Frank McGuire, Bruce Pearl, Rick Pitino, Eddie Sutton and Roy Williams as the lone seven individuals to lead two different DI programs to an AP No. 1 national ranking.
In 2019, Barnes won both the Naismith Coach of the Year Award and the USBWA Henry Iba Coach of the Year Award. The prior year, he was the runner-up for the former designation and claimed the Coach Wooden "Keys to Life" Award. Barnes also won the 2011 USBWA Good Guy Award and the 2009 Wooden Legends of Coaching Award.
An eight-time NABC district coach of the year, six-time conference coach of the year and four-time USBWA district coach of the year, Barnes owns 31 postseason appearances in his 35 complete seasons—no postseason was held in 2020—as a head coach, including an aforementioned 27 NCAA Tournament trips.
Barnes' 23 20-win seasons in his head coaching career put him in the top 15 all-time and the top five among active coaches, while his 11 25-win seasons rank seventh among active coaches. His 13 straight 20-win campaigns from 2000-12 are the co-fourth-most of any current DI head coach.
Only 12 all-time DI coaches, just two of whom are active, have been on the sideline for more games than Barnes (1,196). His 37 seasons are also the third-most of any active DI coach.
Barnes has claimed four conference regular season championships and two conference tournament crowns in his illustrious career. He has been to the Sweet 16 eight times and the Elite Eight thrice. In 2002-03, he guided Texas to its first Final Four in 56 years.
Fifty of Barnes' players have reached the NBA, including 43 in his 36 completed seasons as a head coach. He has coached 38 NBA Draft choices (32 as a head coach), including 22 first-rounders (18 as a head coach), 10 lottery picks (eight as a head coach), eight top-10 selections (six as a head coach), four top-five choices (three as a head coach) and two No. 2 overall picks (both as a head coach).
Barnes has coached 10 All-Americans, including a pair of national player of the year designees in T.J. Ford (2002-03) and eventual NBA MVP honoree Kevin Durant (2006-07). He has guided his players to 17 first-team all-league selections and five conference player of the year distinctions.
In addition, Barnes is one of just four active coaches who tutored an NBA MVP as a college head coach, alongside John Calipari (Derrick Rose), Bill Self (Joel Embiid) and Barnes' former assistant Herb Sendek (James Harden).
Thirteen of Barnes' assistant coaches have gone on to be DI head coaches, including eight at the Power Six level, with one also serving as a professional head coach.
Barnes owns 124 AP top-25 victories—over 15 percent of his win total—in his storied career, including 48 over AP top-10 foes and 26 against AP top-five teams. He has also led his teams to 315 appearances in the AP Poll, including 141 spots in the AP top 10. Along with taking Tennessee and Texas to the top of the list, Barnes also led Clemson to the No. 2 position. Across his 37 seasons as a head coach, Barnes owns 175 victories—over 22 percent of his win total—against programs with an NCAA title.
In April 2023, Barnes was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the Lenoir-Rhyne Sports Hall of Fame, receiving the recognition from his alma mater in 2002.
Following his 1977 graduation from Lenoir-Rhyne, Barnes began his coaching career at the prep level, serving as an assistant at North State Academy (N.C.) from 1977-78. He then joined the college ranks, working for Eddie Biedenbach as an assistant coach at Davidson from 1978-80.
Barnes served as an assistant coach under Joe Harrington at George Mason from 1980-85, aiding the Patriots to a 77-60 record, including a 39-18 mark in his final two years. The team's 21-7 ledger in 1983-84 was its first 20-win season and still stands as the eighth-most wins in a campaign in school history.
After the 1987-88 season, Barnes went to Providence, where he served as the head coach from 1988-94 and posted a 108-76 record. He guided the Friars to five postseason appearances, four NCAA Tournament berths and two 20-win seasons. Over his last two years, Providence went 40-23 with a pair of top-four BIG EAST finishes.
Barnes then worked as the head coach at Clemson for four seasons, from 1994-98. The Tigers tallied a 74-48 ledger during his tenure, twice finishing top-four in the ACC. They made the postseason all four years, notching three NCAA Tournament bids and reaching the Sweet 16 in 1996-97, the third such appearance in program history. They also finished No. 14 in the AP Poll that season, their highest year-end ranking in a decade, as well as eighth in the Coaches Poll.
From 1998-2015, Barnes spent 17 years as the head coach at Texas, compiling a 402-180 overall ledger, including a 186-94 mark in Big 12 play. The Longhorns reached the postseason every year, extending Barnes' steak to 23 straight years across three stops. They earned 16 NCAA Tournament nods, making the Sweet 16 five times after owning five total berths prior to Barnes' arrival and reached the Elite Eight thrice after doing so just once in the five decades before he came to Austin, Texas. The 2003 Final Four berth remains the Longhorns' only such appearance since 1947.
During his Texas tenure, Barnes steered the team to 20-plus wins 15 times, with 25-plus on seven occasions. He also led the Longhorns to their only two 30-win seasons in program history, a 31-7 mark in 2007-08 and a 30-7 figure in 2005-06. Texas finished with a national ranking 10 times, including placing in the top 10 of at least one poll in five seasons. The 2002-03 year-end rankings of No. 5 in the AP Poll and No. 3 in the Coaches Poll remain the best in program history (former mark tied matched in 2022-23).
Barnes is the winningest coach in Texas history, with nearly twice as many victories as second-place Tom Penders (208). All three of Texas' Big 12 regular season titles came during Barnes' tenure, while it also placed top-three in the league on eight other occasions under his tutelage.
Since 2015-16, Barnes has served as the head coach at Tennessee, leading the program to a 183-95 record, including an 86-57 mark in SEC action, over nine seasons. Over the last seven-plus years (2017-present), Tennessee is 152-60, good for the most wins and second-best winning percentage (.717) among all SEC teams, as well as tied for the 11th-most victories nationally in that stretch. The Volunteers also lead all SEC programs in postseason wins (15) during that time and have been ranked in the AP top 20 each year—the only other such seven-year stretch at Tennessee was 1966-73—including placing top-seven in five and top-two in two.
Barnes has guided Tennessee to four 25-win seasons after it had three all-time before his arrival. In 2018-19, the Volunteers tied for the most victories in a campaign in program history, finishing 31-6. Tennessee shared the 2017-18 SEC regular season crown, its first in a decade, and won the 2022 SEC Tournament title, its first since 1979.
Under Barnes' leadership, Tennessee has finished top-four in the SEC five times, including top-two thrice. Its 15-3 league record in 2018-19 tied for the second-best mark in program history, while the 14-4 tally in 2021-22 matched its fourth-best record ever. The Volunteers have reached each of the past five NCAA Tournaments, advancing to the Sweet 16 in both 2019 and 2023. Barnes is 9-7 against AP top-five teams with Tennessee, including 5-0 at home, and owns two wins over the top-ranked team in the AP Poll.
Finalists for the Naismith Hall of Fame will be announced Feb. 16 in Indianapolis during NBA All-Star Weekend. The entire Class of 2024 will be unveiled during the NCAA Final Four in Phoenix on April 6 in a nationally televised broadcast. The time and broadcast networks for both the announcements will be released in the near future. Enshrinement weekend will begin at the Mohegan Sun on August 16, with the Tip-Off Celebration and Awards Gala, followed by the Enshrinement ceremony on August 17, at historic Symphony Hall in Springfield, Mass.
Along with Barnes, Carter (player), Gminksi (player), Laimbeer (player) and the Redeem Team on the North American ballot for the first time are Bobby Dibler (referee), Don Donoher (coach), Robert Foley (coach), Marques Houtman (player), Marv Kessler (coach), Mike Leonardo (coach), Bill Morse (coach), Jack Nagle (coach), Charles Smith (coach) and Jerry Welsh (coach).
Among the many esteemed first-time nominees in other areas are Seimone Augustus (women's player), Mike Fratello (contributor), Andrei Kirilenko (international player) and Jerry West (contributor).
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men's basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops.
NOTE: Eight days after the initial announcement of nominees, two more individuals were added to the list.
Barnes is among just 15 first-time North American nominees, joining a select group that includes names such as Vince Carter, Mike Gminski, Bill Laimbeer and the 2008 U.S. Olympic Redeem Team.
"I feel incredibly blessed to be nominated for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the pinnacle of our sport," Barnes said. "This distinction, though, is not just about me, but more about all the wonderful people who have impacted me throughout my coaching journey the last four-plus decades. I want to thank every coach, staff member, administrator, fan and friend who has supported me and the programs I've had the joy of working for. But most of all, I want to thank the players I've had the privilege of coaching, as well as my family for their unconditional love and for keeping me focused on the Lord and living for the glory of His kingdom."
Now in his 46th consecutive year as a college basketball coach, including his 37th in a row at the helm of a program, Barnes is one of the most successful coaches in the history of the sport. His 787 victories place him No. 15 all-time among Division I head coaches (min. five years in DI), including second among such active coaches.
Barnes owns 27 NCAA Tournament appearances, tied with Lute Olson and Dean Smith for fifth-most all-time and two more than any other active DI head coach. The only individuals with more than him are Mike Krzyzewski (36), Jim Boeheim (35), Roy Williams (30) and Bob Knight (28). His 17 consecutive NCAA bids from 1996-2012 rank as the seventh-long streak ever at the DI level.
A native of Hickory, N.C., Barnes is one of just 15 coaches—only five are active—ever to take four-plus schools to the DI NCAA Tournament and one of 12 coaches, including those who manned the sidelines prior to tournament expansion, to lead three programs to the Sweet 16.
Barnes is among only 24 coaches to win 100-plus games at three DI schools. He joins John Calipari, Frank McGuire, Bruce Pearl, Rick Pitino, Eddie Sutton and Roy Williams as the lone seven individuals to lead two different DI programs to an AP No. 1 national ranking.
In 2019, Barnes won both the Naismith Coach of the Year Award and the USBWA Henry Iba Coach of the Year Award. The prior year, he was the runner-up for the former designation and claimed the Coach Wooden "Keys to Life" Award. Barnes also won the 2011 USBWA Good Guy Award and the 2009 Wooden Legends of Coaching Award.
An eight-time NABC district coach of the year, six-time conference coach of the year and four-time USBWA district coach of the year, Barnes owns 31 postseason appearances in his 35 complete seasons—no postseason was held in 2020—as a head coach, including an aforementioned 27 NCAA Tournament trips.
Barnes' 23 20-win seasons in his head coaching career put him in the top 15 all-time and the top five among active coaches, while his 11 25-win seasons rank seventh among active coaches. His 13 straight 20-win campaigns from 2000-12 are the co-fourth-most of any current DI head coach.
Only 12 all-time DI coaches, just two of whom are active, have been on the sideline for more games than Barnes (1,196). His 37 seasons are also the third-most of any active DI coach.
Barnes has claimed four conference regular season championships and two conference tournament crowns in his illustrious career. He has been to the Sweet 16 eight times and the Elite Eight thrice. In 2002-03, he guided Texas to its first Final Four in 56 years.
Fifty of Barnes' players have reached the NBA, including 43 in his 36 completed seasons as a head coach. He has coached 38 NBA Draft choices (32 as a head coach), including 22 first-rounders (18 as a head coach), 10 lottery picks (eight as a head coach), eight top-10 selections (six as a head coach), four top-five choices (three as a head coach) and two No. 2 overall picks (both as a head coach).
Barnes has coached 10 All-Americans, including a pair of national player of the year designees in T.J. Ford (2002-03) and eventual NBA MVP honoree Kevin Durant (2006-07). He has guided his players to 17 first-team all-league selections and five conference player of the year distinctions.
In addition, Barnes is one of just four active coaches who tutored an NBA MVP as a college head coach, alongside John Calipari (Derrick Rose), Bill Self (Joel Embiid) and Barnes' former assistant Herb Sendek (James Harden).
Thirteen of Barnes' assistant coaches have gone on to be DI head coaches, including eight at the Power Six level, with one also serving as a professional head coach.
Barnes owns 124 AP top-25 victories—over 15 percent of his win total—in his storied career, including 48 over AP top-10 foes and 26 against AP top-five teams. He has also led his teams to 315 appearances in the AP Poll, including 141 spots in the AP top 10. Along with taking Tennessee and Texas to the top of the list, Barnes also led Clemson to the No. 2 position. Across his 37 seasons as a head coach, Barnes owns 175 victories—over 22 percent of his win total—against programs with an NCAA title.
In April 2023, Barnes was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the Lenoir-Rhyne Sports Hall of Fame, receiving the recognition from his alma mater in 2002.
Following his 1977 graduation from Lenoir-Rhyne, Barnes began his coaching career at the prep level, serving as an assistant at North State Academy (N.C.) from 1977-78. He then joined the college ranks, working for Eddie Biedenbach as an assistant coach at Davidson from 1978-80.
Barnes served as an assistant coach under Joe Harrington at George Mason from 1980-85, aiding the Patriots to a 77-60 record, including a 39-18 mark in his final two years. The team's 21-7 ledger in 1983-84 was its first 20-win season and still stands as the eighth-most wins in a campaign in school history.
In 1985-86, Barnes worked under Wimp Sanderson at Alabama, as the Crimson Tide notched a 24-9 record and a spot in the Sweet 16. He then spent the 1986-87 campaign as an assistant to Gary Williams at Ohio State, helping the Buckeyes to a 20-win season and a spot in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32.
Barnes returned to George Mason in 1987 for his first head coaching opportunity. In his lone season at the helm of the Patriots, he led the team to a 20-10 (9-5 CAA) record, posting a .667 winning percentage that is still the co-eighth best in program history.After the 1987-88 season, Barnes went to Providence, where he served as the head coach from 1988-94 and posted a 108-76 record. He guided the Friars to five postseason appearances, four NCAA Tournament berths and two 20-win seasons. Over his last two years, Providence went 40-23 with a pair of top-four BIG EAST finishes.
Barnes then worked as the head coach at Clemson for four seasons, from 1994-98. The Tigers tallied a 74-48 ledger during his tenure, twice finishing top-four in the ACC. They made the postseason all four years, notching three NCAA Tournament bids and reaching the Sweet 16 in 1996-97, the third such appearance in program history. They also finished No. 14 in the AP Poll that season, their highest year-end ranking in a decade, as well as eighth in the Coaches Poll.
From 1998-2015, Barnes spent 17 years as the head coach at Texas, compiling a 402-180 overall ledger, including a 186-94 mark in Big 12 play. The Longhorns reached the postseason every year, extending Barnes' steak to 23 straight years across three stops. They earned 16 NCAA Tournament nods, making the Sweet 16 five times after owning five total berths prior to Barnes' arrival and reached the Elite Eight thrice after doing so just once in the five decades before he came to Austin, Texas. The 2003 Final Four berth remains the Longhorns' only such appearance since 1947.
During his Texas tenure, Barnes steered the team to 20-plus wins 15 times, with 25-plus on seven occasions. He also led the Longhorns to their only two 30-win seasons in program history, a 31-7 mark in 2007-08 and a 30-7 figure in 2005-06. Texas finished with a national ranking 10 times, including placing in the top 10 of at least one poll in five seasons. The 2002-03 year-end rankings of No. 5 in the AP Poll and No. 3 in the Coaches Poll remain the best in program history (former mark tied matched in 2022-23).
Barnes is the winningest coach in Texas history, with nearly twice as many victories as second-place Tom Penders (208). All three of Texas' Big 12 regular season titles came during Barnes' tenure, while it also placed top-three in the league on eight other occasions under his tutelage.
Since 2015-16, Barnes has served as the head coach at Tennessee, leading the program to a 183-95 record, including an 86-57 mark in SEC action, over nine seasons. Over the last seven-plus years (2017-present), Tennessee is 152-60, good for the most wins and second-best winning percentage (.717) among all SEC teams, as well as tied for the 11th-most victories nationally in that stretch. The Volunteers also lead all SEC programs in postseason wins (15) during that time and have been ranked in the AP top 20 each year—the only other such seven-year stretch at Tennessee was 1966-73—including placing top-seven in five and top-two in two.
Barnes has guided Tennessee to four 25-win seasons after it had three all-time before his arrival. In 2018-19, the Volunteers tied for the most victories in a campaign in program history, finishing 31-6. Tennessee shared the 2017-18 SEC regular season crown, its first in a decade, and won the 2022 SEC Tournament title, its first since 1979.
Under Barnes' leadership, Tennessee has finished top-four in the SEC five times, including top-two thrice. Its 15-3 league record in 2018-19 tied for the second-best mark in program history, while the 14-4 tally in 2021-22 matched its fourth-best record ever. The Volunteers have reached each of the past five NCAA Tournaments, advancing to the Sweet 16 in both 2019 and 2023. Barnes is 9-7 against AP top-five teams with Tennessee, including 5-0 at home, and owns two wins over the top-ranked team in the AP Poll.
Finalists for the Naismith Hall of Fame will be announced Feb. 16 in Indianapolis during NBA All-Star Weekend. The entire Class of 2024 will be unveiled during the NCAA Final Four in Phoenix on April 6 in a nationally televised broadcast. The time and broadcast networks for both the announcements will be released in the near future. Enshrinement weekend will begin at the Mohegan Sun on August 16, with the Tip-Off Celebration and Awards Gala, followed by the Enshrinement ceremony on August 17, at historic Symphony Hall in Springfield, Mass.
Along with Barnes, Carter (player), Gminksi (player), Laimbeer (player) and the Redeem Team on the North American ballot for the first time are Bobby Dibler (referee), Don Donoher (coach), Robert Foley (coach), Marques Houtman (player), Marv Kessler (coach), Mike Leonardo (coach), Bill Morse (coach), Jack Nagle (coach), Charles Smith (coach) and Jerry Welsh (coach).
Among the many esteemed first-time nominees in other areas are Seimone Augustus (women's player), Mike Fratello (contributor), Andrei Kirilenko (international player) and Jerry West (contributor).
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men's basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops.
NOTE: Eight days after the initial announcement of nominees, two more individuals were added to the list.
MBB | Rick Barnes Media Availability (10.9.25)
Thursday, October 09
MBB | Rick Barnes Media Availability (9.23.25)
Tuesday, September 23
MBB | Ethan Burg Media Availability (9.23.25)
Tuesday, September 23
MBB | Ja'Kobi Gillespie Media Availability (9.23.25)
Tuesday, September 23
