Jerry Francis Named New Prairie View Men's Basketball Coach

PRAIRIE VIEW, TX.- Jerry Francis, an assistant coach at the University of Houston, has been named the new head men's basketball coach at Prairie View A&M University, according to university athletics director Charles McClelland.

"Coach Francis has extensive experience on the collegiate level. He's been an assistant at some major programs," said McClelland. "In our search for a new coach, we wanted someone who had a history of working with storied programs, was strong in developing and teaching the x's and o's, and had the ability to recruit top notch student-athletes.

"We feel that he is a great fit for where we want the program to go at Prairie View. We look forward to some great things with Coach Francis at the helm of our basketball program. He has the tools, the background and the ability to get us were we need to be and that's playing championship basketball at the Division I level and in the Southwestern Athletic Conference."

Francis, who will assume his duties on May 1, is a 1991 Ohio State University graduate. His 11 years of collegiate coaching experience includes stints as an assistant at Bowling Green (1992-93), Butler (1993-94), Ohio State (1994-97), Wyoming (1997), Ball State (1997-2000) and Houston since May 2000.

"Most young guys as players dream of playing in the NBA. I never thought I had that type of talent, so I focused my energy not just in hustle, effort and hard play, but being a great student of the game," said Francis. "I always knew that I wanted to be a head coach. I'm elated that President Hines and the administration at Prairie View has given me the opportunity.

"This is a very special situation, I don't have to uproot my family and relocate again. Usually, you come into a new job trying to find somewhere to stay, the wife is looking for work and you have to find a baby sitter for the kids. This situation will allow me to come right in and focus all of my attention to the job at hand."

In his previous five years, he has served as an apprentice under Ray McCallum. During that period, he assisted in guiding Houston to the NIT this past season and Ball State to an NIT berth in 1998 and an NCAA tournament appearance in 2000. In 1999-00, Ball State finished 22-9 overall and won both the Mid-American Conference's Western Division regular season and the league's post- season tournament.

In 1992, Francis started his collegiate coaching career as a restricted earnings coach at Bowling Green State. He left Bowling to become a full-time assistant at Butler before returning to his alma mater in 1994.

A native of Columbus, Ohio, Francis was a four-year starter at Ohio State from 1986-1989. In 1986 and 1988, he helped lead the Buckeyes to the NIT championship game and in 1987 a berth to the NCAA tournament. In 1989, his senior season, he guided Ohio State to the NIT quarter-finals and led the Big 10 in free throw percentage. He set a school record by starting 126 games and is currently ranked 15th on the Buckeyes' all-time career scoring list with 1,486 points.

"It's going to take consistency, effort and energy to get Prairie View back to its winning ways. Everything must start on the defensive end," Francis said. "If the players understand our daily routine and what is expected of them, I think they'll be fine."

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