Chris Acker Hired As Next LBSU Men’s Basketball Head Coach

Chris Acker Hired As Next LBSU Men’s Basketball Head Coach

Long Beach State has officially announced the hire of San Diego State assistant coach Chris Acker as the school’s newest head coach.

The hiring of Chris Acker comes after the departure of longtime head coach Dan Monson after 17 seasons with Long Beach.

“My family and I are thrilled to be part of the Long Beach State community and we look forward to developing an elite basketball program the city of Long Beach will proud of,” Acker said in a statement. “With Long Beach State’s rich history and traditions, we will work together to connect current and past players, students, campus stakeholders, and the greater community to once again become a premier program in Southern California.”

Acker spent the past five seasons under head coach Brian Dutcher at SDSU as an assistant. Acker will be the 17th head coach in Long Beach State men’s basketball history.

During his time in San Diego, the Aztecs have won three Mountain West regular season and conference tournament titles. Acker and the Aztecs also made the NCAA tournament championship game last year, but ultimately lost to UConn, 76-59.

The hiring of Acker comes due to the previous relationship from current Long Beach State Athletics Director Bobby Smitheran, who previously served as the Executive Associate Athletics Director for San Diego State.

“Our search committee placed a premium on identifying a candidate with a championship pedigree, a desire to support the holistic development of the young men in our basketball program, and a connection to the tremendous community of Long Beach,” said Executive Director of Athletics, Bobby Smitheran in a statement. “Chris Acker exemplifies all of those qualities, and his brand of leadership is exactly what is needed for the next era of Beach Basketball. He is passionate, intentional, gritty, and a man of great integrity, and we look forward to seeing what he can build in the next chapter of this storied program.”

Many schools are hiring new coaches, such as Washington who hired former Utah State head coach Danny Sprinkle to the same role.

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